


Peace

by Delicate_Musings13



Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-31
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:08:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 22
Words: 25,830
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25633333
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Delicate_Musings13/pseuds/Delicate_Musings13
Summary: This is an AU after season 3 episode 5 where instead of leaving Mystic Falls without Elena, Klaus takes her and Stefan to go make his hybrids. Stefan and Elena struggle to rebuild and make a relationship under the watchful eye of Klaus who does not want the two together. All Stefan wants is to bring some sort of peace to Elena's new chaotic world and all Elena wants is the peace that comes with being with Stefan. Can they build something to outlast them or will they fall apart under the pressure?
Relationships: Elena Gilbert/Elijah Mikaelson, Elena Gilbert/Klaus Mikaelson, Elena Gilbert/Stefan Salvatore, Elena Gilbert/Tyler Lockwood, Klaus Mikaelson/Stefan Salvatore
Comments: 7
Kudos: 51





	1. First Night

**Author's Note:**

> This is a series I started a week ago and have a fair amount written on it already! I also post on my Wattpad fearlessStelena so you can find this series there, as well as some of my other writings! I'm going to try and update once or twice a week depending on how busy I am. Please enjoy and let me know what you think! Thank you for taking the time to read it.

The first thing Elena noticed was the hospital smell, sterile and overly clean, the next thing she noticed was the pain in her neck and arm. She opened her eyes a small groan leaving her lips as she woke up in the hospital room. She looked around trying to figure out how she had ended up here, she could remember Caroline practically forcing Elena out of her house for Senior Prank Night, allowing herself to let go for a few hours and having fun with her friends, then something had happened.

"Morning Love," a hauntingly familiar voice said from the chair in the room. Elena turned seeing Klaus sitting casually in a chair as if it were a typical night for him. Elena frowned flashes of the night before flooding her memory, Stefan showing up, her classmates getting killed because of her, Klaus forcing blood down Tyler's throat, some blonde girl biting her and yelling at her over the necklace Stefan had given her. Stefan. The name awoke some energy in her forcing her body to sit up in her bed looking around for him.

"Where's Stefan? What did you do to him?" Elena asked, her voice panicked and accusing. The sudden movement sent a wave of dizziness and nausea through Elena which must have been evident as Klaus pushed her easily back down on the bed.

"Relax, he's off running some errands for me while you do your donation," Klaus said rolling his eyes at her weak attempts to move.

It was then Elena noticed the IV in her arm and the blood flowing out of her. Elena frowned using her other arm to try and pull out the IV, her mind racing. Klaus shook his head grabbing her hand with a viper tight grip. "If you're going to be difficult my dear I'll tell the nurse you'll need to be strapped in this bed," Klaus warned his voice making it clear it wasn't an idle threat. Elena looked up at Klaus, her large brown eyes shooting daggers at the man.

"You can't do this, I have friends, I have a family. They'll come looking for me."

"Not if they think you're dead," Klaus said, "I went ahead and compelled your friends to believe they saw you die last night. They're safe as long as you're cooperative."

Elena thought through what Klaus was saying, how long had she been out that he'd had enough time to do all that. Part of her knew it was probably for the best that her friends thought she was dead, they couldn't get hurt trying to save her if they thought she was gone.

"What's your plan then? Haul me along like a toy as you travel the country looking for werewolves?" Elena asked her voice bitter.

"More or less, maybe replace the country with the world. Why concur just one when I could do all?" Klaus asked a smirk on his face.

"What about school? My life? My stuff at home? How is Jeremy supposed to go on without an adult in his life?" Elena asked, shaking her head outranged.

"You'll be getting a worldly education with me Elena, and your life belongs to me now. As for your brother as long as you're being a good girl I'll make sure he never has to pay another bill as long as he lives. One of Stefan's errands was to go collect your things for you, considering your history together I'd think he would know what you wanted better than I would."

Elena tried to process everything Klaus was saying, at very least Jeremy would be able to go to college if he wanted. Elena hated how Klaus claimed she belonged to him like she was his property to use however he wanted. Elena wished she could use the fact her blood could make hybrids against him, but she didn't have any of the power here, not with her friends and family's lives on the line. The thought of Stefan in her room, a place a few months ago they'd considered theirs, was strange, though she knew she'd rather have Stefan in there grabbing her clothes than anyone else.

"So I really don't have a choice here do I?" Elena asked, crossing her arms.

Klaus shook his head, "No, I'm afraid you don't Elena."


	2. October

Two months later

Elena sat on the balcony overlooking the lake, the cool fall air hitting her face bringing some sort of comfort to her. It was fall and the leaves were in the brilliant colors she loved, in another life, this would have been some sort of vacation she loved to have been on but that wasn't her life anymore. She looked down at the journal in her hands that'd she'd been absentmindedly writing in. Her days were mostly the same, Tyler would bring her breakfast which normally consisted of toast and some sort of protein with fruit, she'd normally do some online schooling Klaus had signed her up for the computer he'd given her was monitored so she didn't dare try and reach out to anyone she knew, in the afternoon she'd go on the walk around whatever town they were in most of the time being followed by one of the nameless hybrid's Klaus had made, then she'd get lunch back at whatever little house they were staying at, once it got later in the day she was made to stay in her rooms which consisted of a tv, collection of books, the laptop Klaus has provided and often a balcony so she could still go outside if she wanted, dinner arrived which was homemade.

Elena was treated like a princess, practically anything she wanted was at her fingertips, anything but her freedom. She appreciated Tyler's visits when he allowed, he sometimes snuck in late at night and two would watch a movie or talk until she fell asleep. They'd never been super close growing up sure they'd gone to the same play dates and had been at the same school when she and Matt had dated; she'd seen a lot more of Tyler but he'd never quite cracked the innermost circle of her friend group. Now that they were all they'd ever had it formed a bit of a bond. Neither of them knew if this was something they were supposed to be doing but it's not as if Klaus couldn't put a stop to it if he had wanted to.

Stefan's presence during this was everywhere, even if she hardly saw him. Elena suspected Klaus was keeping Stefan from Elena for some reason, though given their last real interaction she guessed it was for the best. She didn't know if Klaus still had Stefan's humanity off or not, she didn't even know if it mattered. She didn't know what she would say to Stefan even if she did see him. If it were on what was his reasoning for not at least trying to contact her over the last two months? Why wasn't he trying to get her out of this? Did he truly not care about her? If that was the case why had he bothered to grab all her favorite clothes from her house, remembered her journal and favorite blanket and pillow? He'd grabbed one of the sweatshirts she'd stolen that summer from his room, grabbed her favorite worn copy of Little Women from her bookshelf. All of that showed he did, at least somewhere deep inside Stefan, care about Elena. That didn't make Elena feel any less angry at the situation, angry about the fact she was missing out on so much in her life because of this mess.

"You seem deep in thought Miss Gilbert," Klaus's voice said from the doorway, startling Elena.

Elena turned and looked over at Klaus, "what do you need?" She asked standing up and crossing her arms. She didn't like being alone with Klaus, she didn't trust him, she was fairly confident he'd push her off this balcony with no issue.

"Just letting you know that you need to pack your things, we're leaving in the morning," Klaus said looking at her.

Elena frowned, she liked this town it was quiet and peaceful, she liked seeing the trees changing and the view of the lakes from her room. "Why can't I stay? It's not as if I'm helpful in finding your hybrids."

Klaus looked at Elena studying her closely. "Leave you here alone?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. "And what's to stop you from running back home the second I leave?"

Elena rolled her eyes, "maybe the fact I haven't fought you on anything. I've done everything you've asked, no questions or complaints. And I didn't mean alone, you could leave Tyler or someone if you feel like I need a damn babysitter." The idea of having this house alone with Tyler was something that brought some sense of excitement to Elena. He was her only friend these days and she knew he'd protect her if anything happened.

"Are you suggesting I leave a newly turned teenaged hybrid in charge of my most prized possession?" Klaus asked, raising an eyebrow. "I think I'd rather leave someone with a bit more life experience, especially when it comes to keeping that pretty little head of yours safe." He mused.

Elena frowned, knowing exactly who he was talking about. She didn't know if she wanted to stay if it were Stefan, that seemed like a punishment more than anything else.

"Don't you need Stefan as your right-hand man or whatever?" Elena asked, trying to keep the bitterness out of her voice.

"I think as my right-hand man he should be perfectly capable of taking care of my girl." Klaus said, "you can stay, I'll let Stefan know he'll be staying here as well. I'll be back by the end of the month, maybe a bit longer depending. At that time I'll probably need another donation so I'll send a nurse here. I'll make sure Stefan knows beforehand, so you get enough sleep and are in perfect health." Klaus added. Elena knew perfectly well none of this was up to her, that he could do whatever he wanted and she got no say in any of it. With that Klaus left Elena alone with her thoughts.

That evening Elena was in her room when Tyler came in giving her a shy smile, "don't you have some packing to do or something?" she asked looking up at him from her spot on her bed.

Tyler shrugged, " I think I have about a backpack's worth of stuff at this point so I didn't have much packing to do. How did you convince Klaus to let you stay here? Now we'll probably be staying at some skeevy hotel or something."

Elena knew he didn't mean any of his words to hurt her, none of it was her fault, the fact that Tyler was living out of a backpack and the only reason they stayed at nice places was because of her was something she hadn't been aware of. It added just another layer of guilt to her already guilty conscience.

"I'm sorry Tyler, I didn't know," Elena said shaking her head looking over at her friend.

Tyler looked at Elena watching her carefully, " I'm just teasing you, Elena. You have to know, whatever Klaus does isn't your fault right? None of this is because of you."

Elena frowned, shrugging, "isn't it though? You're a hybrid and living out of a backpack because of me. You're now having to stay at some crappy hotel because I didn't want to leave here. How is that not my fault?" Elena didn't want to cry, she thought she had cried herself out over the last five months.

Tyler wrapped an arm around her pulling Elena close, "hey," he said his voice gentle and soothing. "You know it's kinda self-centered to think everything revolves around you, I thought that was Caroline's thing, not yours," he teased.

Elena laughed, hitting his arm shaking her head and sighing, "you're an idiot," she said.

"So since when can Salvatore cook? I mean I knew the dude was good at football and school, but I didn't know he had that talent too." Tyler asked looking down at Elena.

"Stefan? Is he cooking for the hybrids? Do you guys even eat human food?" Elena asked, confused.

"Really Elena? Did you forget how this vampire thing works? Did you think I was making your breakfast and dinner?" Tyler asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

Elena frowned, she never thought about that, who had been making her food. She should have known it was Stefan, thinking about it, it tasted like something he would cook. She guessed she was just being so stubborn and blinded by anger that she had never given any thought to it.

"Is Klaus making him cook it or something?" Elena asked.

"I don't think so, I think Stefan just kinda decided to take on that responsibility. That way no one had to compel a personal chef or whatever, seeing how he already knows what you like to eat and stuff." Tyler explained looking over at her.

That surprised Elena, why would Stefan insist on making her food if he didn't care about her anymore, especially with his humanity off? None of it made sense, but nothing in her world made sense anymore.

"So what movie are we watching? Or are you going to force me to watch some awful reality show?" Tyler asked dropping the subject of Stefan and his cooking for the evening.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I promise we get to Stelena content soon!


	3. Collide

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stefan and Elena meet face to face after months apart, alone for the first time in 5 months

The next morning Elena woke up to a quiet house, she could hear music playing from the kitchen and the smell of pancakes and bacon floated in the air. Elena yawned getting herself out of bed wrapping her robe around herself and walked down the hall, surprised to find her door completely unlocked.

Elena wandered into the dining room seeing a note on the table, 'food is ready in the kitchen. Let me know if you need anything.-Stefan' The handwriting was so painfully familiar, he used to leave notes like that when he spent the night and didn't want to be caught by Jenna. The thought of Jenna caused a sharp pang in Elena, she tried her best not to think about the woman she'd lost, it only led to more tears.

Elena was frustrated Stefan hadn't even bothered to show his face, what was his plan? Ignore her till Klaus got back and he had an excuse to go back into hiding? She wanted to scream, wanted to throw something. Instead, she walked to the door leading to the backyard and stormed out the dining room, slamming the door behind her. Elena walked towards the lake not really sure what she was doing. Soon her feet were in the cold lake water, she knew it probably wasn't the healthiest option but she didn't care. Soon she was up to her knees in water, she stared out at the lake and wondered how far she could go.

"Elena!" Stefan's voice called from somewhere close by.

Elena turned seeing Stefan standing on the edge of the lake watching her with a bewildered look on his face.

"What the hell are you doing Elena? The water is freezing." Stefan said looking at her.

"Yeah I had that figured out," Elena snapped back glaring at him with her large brown eyes.

" Get out of the water Elena, you're going to get yourself sick then Klaus will have both our asses," Stefan said, crossing his arms.

"So glad you care." Elena snapped, of course, he only cared about her when it came to how Klaus would react.

In a blink of an eye, Stefan was standing in front of her in the water, his body inches from her. Elena glared up at Stefan, she could feel her heart racing as her doe eyes met his green ones. She crossed her arms staring up Stefan shaking her head, her breath shaking. Stefan stood there still, wearing his classic grey shirt and dark blue jeans, his hair tousled perfectly. At that moment all Elena wanted to do was wrap her arms around him and kiss him, forget about where they were, what was happening in their lives. Why she was in this lake in the first place, why they were both there, forget how angry she was at Stefan for ignoring her for the last two months and for leaving her alone that summer.

"You really should get out of the water Elena, it's about forty degrees out here and the water is probably colder than that. You're barefoot and wearing shorts, it's not exactly swimming weather," Stefan pointed out using logic to reason with her.

"Are you going to make me?" Elena asked, ignoring how cold she was getting.

"I don't want to force you to do anything Elena, you're an adult you can make your own choices, even if they are stupid ones."

Those words made Elena scoff and shake her head, "oh go fuck yourself, Stefan." Elena snapped all her anger coming out in those five words. "You talk about making my own choices when we both know I don't get that luxury anymore, which you clearly don't give a damn about considering you haven't bothered speaking to me in months. I've been waiting for months for you to say something, anything to me. You left me alone for a summer and I didn't know if you were alive or dead, you left me right after my family died. I had to go back to school with bruises on my arms and a new scar on my neck. Do you know what everyone thought of Stefan? They thought you and I got into a physical fight and then you left town. What was I supposed to tell them? That you left to save your dumbass vampire brother leaving me to pick up the mess that my life had become? Jeremy got shot by Liz that night too, and the only reason he's alive right now is because of Bonnie. Did you know that? That my little brother almost died again because of your brother? Then when I finally saw you, told me to stop giving a shit about you. And now you care about my choices?" Elena yelled tears streaming down her face as all her emotions just spilled out.

"You done?" Stefan asked, looking at her.

Elena nodded then walked back to shore, knowing she should be feeling something at that moment but she just felt numb. Elena walked back into the dining room and walked into the kitchen seeing a plate of food waiting for her. She examined the plate, pancakes with strawberry jelly, and turkey bacon. Of course, he remembered she didn't like eating pork. Elena took a bite of the bacon trying to calm herself down, trying to stop herself from crying anymore than she already had been. Elena angrily cut a piece of the pancake and took a bite, it was delicious. Elena studied the room, she hadn't had a chance to really look around the place they were staying at before this. Klaus had wanted her to stay within her confines claiming it was for her safety, though Elena expected it had more to do with her being under his control. Elena finished her breakfast and put the dishes in the dishwasher. She knew she should probably change clothes, she was still cold from the water she'd been. Instead, she wanted to walk around the house, figure out where she was staying.

Elena walked into the living room and started looking around the large room, it was something out of some old movie. It was decorated nicely with old vases and some live plants in the room. By the windows there were pictures of a family out by the lake, pictures of animals and nature that had been taken nearby, someone had clearly loved this place before they showed up. It looked like somewhere her mom would have liked to visit, somewhere Miranda Gilbert would have taken her family on vacation. Elena found a photo album sitting on the side table and picked it up sitting on the couch curling her feet under herself.

The pictures showed the story of a family, wedding pictures, baby photos, pictures of games, and vacations, someone's whole life in one album. The pictures had to have been from years ago, well before anyone here had arrived, which made Elena wonder who they were and what had happened to them.

"The owners of this house died a few years ago, their kids never had it in them to come to clean it out or sell it." Stefan's voice said from the doorway. Elena looked up and watched as the man came closer then sat on the chair next to her.

"Klaus compelled them to let us use it whenever we want, I thought you might like the lake view," Stefan said looking at Elena.

Elena frowned a bit nodding not really knowing what to say to any of it.

"Do you want to be left alone?" Stefan asked.

Elena nodded knowing if she opened her mouth something she'd end up regretting would come out. She'd either end up confessing her love for the man or yelling at him again and neither seemed like a healthy option.

Stefan nodded in response then stood walking out of the room leaving Elena alone to her thoughts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do you think Elena's reaction was fair? How do you think they'll move forward after this? Thank you so much for reading guys!


	4. Musings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elena begins to write to process the world around her.

The next several days went by with no communication between the two in the house, it was like living with ghosts in the house. In some ways that what they were, ghosts of their former selves stuck in a house together. Elena had changed, forced herself to be harder, colder than the girl Stefan had left behind, in turn, Stefan seemed more distant and closed off then Elena had ever seen him. He still cooked her favorite foods, left her notes in the morning, and never chastised her when she wandered outside as long as she had on weather appropriate clothing or didn't go in the water. Elena had found the study and collection of books the family that had lived here owned. She had begun reading one of the books, trying to throw herself into another time and place.

Elena sighed working on her computer work leaning against the couch from her spot on her floor. She was scrolling between her homework and the writing she'd been working on, Elena didn't really know what'd she was writing about but it came in bits and pieces so she woke when the inspiration struck.

'The girl stared out at the ocean sitting on her spot on the roof, her hair moving with the wind. She watched a man walking on the beach with another girl, they looked happy from her view, she wondered what their lives were like, and if they ever felt like this. That summer had been the happiest of her life, she'd been loved, adored even by one man, and now he'd gone back home to his life leaving her utterly alone. She had known it'd been silly to get involved with him but the way he kissed he had her addicted. His ocean blue eyes had matched the view from her house that she loved so much. He had awoken a part of her that she didn't know how to put it back to sleep. She checked her phone, hoping he'd reach out to her, tell her how he really felt and that he was coming back for her. That'd never happen he belonged somewhere else, had a family and life to get back to. Maybe he would come back next summer before they left for college, or who knew maybe fate would put them at the same school.

She could still feel his hands on her body, the way he smiled when he kissed her every inch of her, and the way he used to tease in the middle of an argument to get her to smile. The way he called her beautiful when she got out of bed or was driving, doing things that were perfectly ordinary. He saw things in her she hadn't known were there, the good and the bad. After all that how could he just leave her like this?'

Hours passed of Elena working between writing and doing homework, sometimes putting on music in the background to try to break from the silence. Before she knew it she could smell something from the kitchen, Elena stood and walked towards the kitchen curious on what Stefan was doing. Something about her writing had put her in a much calmer mood, where she knew she wouldn't be the one to start a fight.

Elena stood watching Stefan work in the kitchen, utterly distracted by his work, she smiled seeing him seem so at ease with what he was doing. It smelt amazing the mix of spices and whatever was baking in the oven. Elena was sure Stefan knew she was watching him, he was a vampire they knew that kind of thing, he'd always been the one to sneak up on her. She could remember lazy Saturday mornings while she got ready unaware of Stefan watching her as if she were the most interesting thing he'd ever seen. Or the way he'd sneak up on her to surprise her, they'd gotten to a point she could just about sense it moments before he wanted her to, they'd been so in sync with their actions back then. It was nice to be on the opposite side of things for once, being able to observe him in such a relaxed state. If things were different she'd walk up behind him and wrap her arms around his waist and kiss his cheek but no, they were far past that now. Weren't they?


	5. Collide

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stefan and Elena finally come face to face after Senior Prank Night

The next morning Elena woke up to a quiet house, she could hear music playing from the kitchen and the smell of pancakes and bacon floated in the air. Elena yawned getting herself out of bed wrapping her robe around herself and walked down the hall, surprised to find her door completely unlocked.

Elena wandered into the dining room seeing a note on the table, 'food is ready in the kitchen. Let me know if you need anything.-Stefan' The handwriting was so painfully familiar, he used to leave notes like that when he spent the night and didn't want to be caught by Jenna. The thought of Jenna caused a sharp pang in Elena, she tried her best not to think about the woman she'd lost, it only led to more tears.

Elena was frustrated Stefan hadn't even bothered to show his face, what was his plan? Ignore her till Klaus got back and he had an excuse to go back into hiding? She wanted to scream, wanted to throw something. Instead, she walked to the door leading to the backyard and stormed out the dining room, slamming the door behind her. Elena walked towards the lake not really sure what she was doing. Soon her feet were in the cold lake water, she knew it probably wasn't the healthiest option but she didn't care. Soon she was up to her knees in water, she stared out at the lake and wondered how far she could go.

"Elena!" Stefan's voice called from somewhere close by.

Elena turned seeing Stefan standing on the edge of the lake watching her with a bewildered look on his face.

"What the hell are you doing Elena? The water is freezing." Stefan said looking at her.

"Yeah I had that figured out," Elena snapped back glaring at him with her large brown eyes.

" Get out of the water Elena, you're going to get yourself sick then Klaus will have both our asses," Stefan said, crossing his arms.

"So glad you care." Elena snapped, of course, he only cared about her when it came to how Klaus would react.

In a blink of an eye, Stefan was standing in front of her in the water, his body inches from her. Elena glared up at Stefan, she could feel her heart racing as her doe eyes met his green ones. She crossed her arms staring up Stefan shaking her head, her breath shaking. Stefan stood there still, wearing his classic grey shirt and dark blue jeans, his hair tousled perfectly. At that moment all Elena wanted to do was wrap her arms around him and kiss him, forget about where they were, what was happening in their lives. Why she was in this lake in the first place, why they were both there, forget how angry she was at Stefan for ignoring her for the last two months and for leaving her alone that summer.

"You really should get out of the water Elena, it's about forty degrees out here and the water is probably colder than that. You're barefoot and wearing shorts, it's not exactly swimming weather," Stefan pointed out using logic to reason with her.

"Are you going to make me?" Elena asked, ignoring how cold she was getting.

"I don't want to force you to do anything Elena, you're an adult you can make your own choices, even if they are stupid ones."

Those words made Elena scoff and shake her head, "oh go fuck yourself, Stefan." Elena snapped all her anger coming out in those five words. "You talk about making my own choices when we both know I don't get that luxury anymore, which you clearly don't give a damn about considering you haven't bothered speaking to me in months. I've been waiting for months for you to say something, anything to me. You left me alone for a summer and I didn't know if you were alive or dead, you left me right after my family died. I had to go back to school with bruises on my arms and a new scar on my neck. Do you know what everyone thought of Stefan? They thought you and I got into a physical fight and then you left town. What was I supposed to tell them? That you left to save your dumbass vampire brother leaving me to pick up the mess that my life had become? Jeremy got shot by Liz that night too, and the only reason he's alive right now is because of Bonnie. Did you know that? That my little brother almost died again because of your brother? Then when I finally saw you, told me to stop giving a shit about you. And now you care about my choices?" Elena yelled tears streaming down her face as all her emotions just spilled out.

"You done?" Stefan asked, looking at her.

Elena nodded then walked back to shore, knowing she should be feeling something at that moment but she just felt numb. Elena walked back into the dining room and walked into the kitchen seeing a plate of food waiting for her. She examined the plate, pancakes with strawberry jelly, and turkey bacon. Of course, he remembered she didn't like eating pork. Elena took a bite of the bacon trying to calm herself down, trying to stop herself from crying anymore than she already had been. Elena angrily cut a piece of the pancake and took a bite, it was delicious. Elena studied the room, she hadn't had a chance to really look around the place they were staying at before this. Klaus had wanted her to stay within her confines claiming it was for her safety, though Elena expected it had more to do with her being under his control. Elena finished her breakfast and put the dishes in the dishwasher. She knew she should probably change clothes, she was still cold from the water she'd been. Instead, she wanted to walk around the house, figure out where she was staying.

Elena walked into the living room and started looking around the large room, it was something out of some old movie. It was decorated nicely with old vases and some live plants in the room. By the windows there were pictures of a family out by the lake, pictures of animals and nature that had been taken nearby, someone had clearly loved this place before they showed up. It looked like somewhere her mom would have liked to visit, somewhere Miranda Gilbert would have taken her family on vacation. Elena found a photo album sitting on the side table and picked it up sitting on the couch curling her feet under herself.

The pictures showed the story of a family, wedding pictures, baby photos, pictures of games, and vacations, someone's whole life in one album. The pictures had to have been from years ago, well before anyone here had arrived, which made Elena wonder who they were and what had happened to them.

"The owners of this house died a few years ago, their kids never had it in them to come to clean it out or sell it." Stefan's voice said from the doorway. Elena looked up and watched as the man came closer then sat on the chair next to her.

"Klaus compelled them to let us use it whenever we want, I thought you might like the lake view," Stefan said looking at Elena.

Elena frowned a bit nodding not really knowing what to say to any of it.

"Do you want to be left alone?" Stefan asked.

Elena nodded knowing if she opened her mouth something she'd end up regretting would come out. She'd either end up confessing her love for the man or yelling at him again and neither seemed like a healthy option.

Stefan nodded in response then stood walking out of the room leaving Elena alone to her thoughts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Elena let all her emotions from the last five months come out. What do you think will happen next? Thank you so much for reading! Please let me know what you think! <3


	6. Musings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elena stews with her thoughts over the last few months events and starts writing again.

The next several days went by with no communication between the two in the house, it was like living with ghosts in the house. In some ways that what they were, ghosts of their former selves stuck in a house together. Elena had changed, forced herself to be harder, colder than the girl Stefan had left behind, in turn, Stefan seemed more distant and closed off then Elena had ever seen him. He still cooked her favorite foods, left her notes in the morning, and never chastised her when she wandered outside as long as she had on weather appropriate clothing or didn’t go in the water. Elena had found the study and collection of books the family that had lived here owned. She had begun reading one of the books, trying to throw herself into another time and place.   
Elena sighed working on her computer work leaning against the couch from her spot on her floor. She was scrolling between her homework and the writing she’d been working on, Elena didn’t really know what’d she was writing about but it came in bits and pieces so she woke when the inspiration struck.   
‘The girl stared out at the ocean sitting on her spot on the roof, her hair moving with the wind. She watched a man walking on the beach with another girl, they looked happy from her view, she wondered what their lives were like, and if they ever felt like this. That summer had been the happiest of her life, she’d been loved, adored even by one man, and now he’d gone back home to his life leaving her utterly alone. She had known it’d been silly to get involved with him but the way he kissed he had her addicted. His ocean blue eyes had matched the view from her house that she loved so much. He had awoken a part of her that she didn’t know how to put it back to sleep. She checked her phone, hoping he’d reach out to her, tell her how he really felt and that he was coming back for her. That’d never happen he belonged somewhere else, had a family and life to get back to. Maybe he would come back next summer before they left for college, or who knew maybe fate would put them at the same school.   
She could still feel his hands on her body, the way he smiled when he kissed her every inch of her and the way he used to tease in the middle of an argument to get her to smile. The way he called her beautiful when she got out of bed or was driving, doing things that were perfectly ordinary. He saw things in her she hadn’t known were there, the good and the bad. After all that how could he just leave her like this?’

Hours passed of Elena working between writing and doing homework, sometimes putting on music in the background to try to break from the silence. Before she knew it she could smell something from the kitchen, Elena stood and walked towards the kitchen curious on what Stefan was doing. Something about her writing had put her in a much calmer mood, where she knew she wouldn’t be the one to start a fight.


	7. Apologizes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stefan and Elena have their first real conversations in months

Elena stood watching Stefan work in the kitchen, utterly distracted by his work, she smiled seeing him seem so at ease with what he was doing. It smelt amazing the mix of spices and whatever was baking in the oven. Elena was sure Stefan knew she was watching him, he was a vampire they knew that kind of thing, he’d always been the one to sneak up on her. She could remember lazy Saturday mornings while she got ready unaware of Stefan watching her as if she were the most interesting thing he’d ever seen. Or the way he’d sneak up on her to surprise her, they’d gotten to a point she could just about sense it moments before he wanted her to, they’d been so in sync with their actions back then. It was nice to be on the opposite side of things for once, being able to observe him in such a relaxed state. If things were different she’d walk up behind him and wrap her arms around his waist and kiss his cheek but no, they were far past that now. Weren’t they?

Stefan sat the food on the dining room table, setting down enough for the two of them to eat. This was new to the pattern they’d created over the past few days, normally Elena ate alone in the living room or her room while watching someone on Netflix. Elena looked at the plate of baked chicken with roasted asparagus, carrots, and peppers, along with some rice mix. It all smelled amazing and looked really good.   
“I wanted to apologize,” Stefan started looking over at Elena.   
Elena frowned, putting down the fork that had been in her hand and turned her attention to Stefan. She wondered what on Earth he was apologizing for, of his list of sins none of them were really fair for Elena to be mad at him for.   
“From the moment I met you the last thing I wanted was to see you hurt by me or something I caused. You are the bravest woman I’ve ever met in my entire life Elena, the way you’ve managed to stay strong and fight your way through hell is breathtaking to watch. You’re so resilient Elena,” Stefan began.   
“None of that is an apology Stefan,” Elena whispered trying to force herself to keep the numbness she’d been feeling.   
Stefan gave a small sad smile looking at her as if she’d met some expectation he always had of her.   
“I’m so sorry I couldn’t protect you from this. I’m sorry your life has been chaotic because I came into your world and I wasn’t able to protect you from Klaus and everything he’s done to you. I’m sorry I couldn’t protect Jenna and John for you because even if I had still left you’d have had some sort of parents to get you through it. I can’t imagine how last summer must have been for you, I wish I could have kept you away from the gossip of high school assholes. That night when I called you, hearing your voice, God Elena that saved me. I don’t know if you know how much hearing you say you still loved me, got me through what I was being forced to do. The night Klaus made me bite you… I don’t know how you stand to be in the same room as me right now.”  
The words were bringing unwelcome tears to Elena’s eyes, she could feel herself shaking listening to his words. Everything hurt, hearing him say the words that were all she had wanted to hear for months at a time when everything was falling apart hurt. Elena took a sip of her water trying to calm herself down and force herself not to relive the times he was talking about, the unwanted memories flooding her mind.   
“Klaus made me turn my humanity back on when he had you in the hospital, seeing you lying there, you looked so small and fragile. It was like seeing you dead all over again Elena,” there were tears in his eyes now as he spoke. “Klaus told me my punishment would be to see you have to be his blood bag but not be able to save you from this. He wants you to have a kid at some point and he doesn’t really care if it’s something you want. Klaus doesn’t want us to be attached anymore so whenever he brings in your perfect man to have a baby with you’ll comply more easily. I don’t know how to protect you from this Elena, how to keep you safe from him. All I want to do is get you out that door and take you somewhere safe where he can’t find you. But if I did that then you’d lose everyone you love and I can’t do that to you either. He already has Rebekah staying in Mystic Falls as a safeguard in case you decided to run, I can’t risk the people we care about getting hurt.”   
Elena didn’t know when she had walked over to Stefan but her arms were now wrapped around him tightly. He stood wrapping his arms around her as if her arms were her safety net. Everything was safe here, everything was warm and okay in his arms. Despite everything he had just told her about Klaus’s plan, how he wanted to force her to have kids have no more control over her life than a spoiled house cat. She understood now why he had stayed away from her, she’d probably had done the same if she were in his shoes. After all, they always tried to keep each other safe when it came down to it.   
“I missed you so much.” Elena breathed against his chest.  
“I missed you too,” Stefan said into her hair.   
There was so much more that needed to be said, to figure out before Klaus came back and their lives were no longer this small space for just them All Elena wanted to do was stay in his arms, where everything could be ignored for just a while longer, the world could disappear for just a moment as they stayed there together.


	8. Quiet

It was later in the night, the town and the world around them were asleep but Stefan and Elena were in her bed, the TV on in the background as they talked. His arms were wrapped around her and her head rested on his chest, it was quiet and peaceful, a blanket wrapped around them as they talked.   
“ So what’s the deal with you and Tyler?” Stefan asked, playing with a strand of her hair.   
Elena couldn’t help the small giggle that escaped her lips at his small sign of jealousy, “we’re just friends Stefan. He was the only person Klaus allowed around me and we’ve known each other since diapers. It’s nice to have a friend here since you weren’t speaking to me either.”  
Stefan nodded, “just be careful okay? He’s sired so it’s likely anything you tell him or ask him to do will get back to Klaus,” he warned, his voice soft but stern.   
“Why would Tyler do that?” Elena asked, raising an eyebrow.  
“Hybrids are sired, which means they have to do whatever the person who turned them says, willingly or not. That’s why Tyler doesn’t fight anything Klaus tells him or he doesn’t go around bashing the guy,” Stefan explained.  
Elena nodded, she guessed it had made sense. She had just assumed Tyler was just trying to cover his ass by not partaking in Elena’s bashing of Klaus and how he did whatever Klaus asked the moment he was asked to do it.   
Elena closed her eyes, sighing leaning into Stefan’s body not wanting to fall asleep but feeling exhausted.   
“You can sleep Elena, I’m not going anywhere,” Stefan said softly.   
“Yeah but what if I wake up and you’re back to ignoring me because this was all some dream or something,” Elena whispered hating to admit to how she felt.  
“I promise that’s not going to happen, once Klaus comes back we’ll have to be more careful but until then you have my undivided attention,” Stefan promised before taking her hand and kissing it gently. “You’re safe with me Elena, you matter to me.”   
Something about that last part made Elena want to cry because she knew when he said it he meant it. Elena knew as a person she mattered to Stefan, not as a means to an end the way it was with Klaus. It felt so good to be seen again, to matter to someone. She looked up at Stefan, her large doe eyes searching for any sign of lies in his green eyes, instead, they just showed how earnest he was being in his words. Elena knew he was being as honest as he could be given everything going on in their world. She knew he would do anything in his power to keep her safe, even if it meant hurting himself in the long run. The last part scared her knowing the truth of their reality.   
It was like falling in love all over again over the next few days, hand-holding and kisses on cheeks, sweet smiles, and gentle teasing. It was so easy between the two of them like things hadn't totally changed over the past five months, and their days turned into a week. They formed a routine barely ever leaving each other alone, even when Elena was working on school stuff Stefan sat in the room, sometimes adding his input, or just sitting there reading next to her as she worked.  
“Klaus texted and said he’s sending a nurse on Wednesday to take your blood,” Stefan said, putting his phone down on the bedside table.   
Elena frowned at that, she hated how she felt after he took her blood, last time he’d taken just enough to keep her alive and all she wanted to do for the next few days were sleep. Elena wanted to be present during this time with Stefan, she didn't want to feel awful for a few days after and have him worrying about her. Elena also knew she didn’t have a say in the matter, maybe having Stefan there would make it better somehow.   
“You’ll be there right?” Elena asked looking over at Stefan trying to keep the worry out of her voice.   
“Where else would I be Elena?” Stefan asked, looking at her. “He also said he might come to pick it up by the end of the week or he’ll send a hybrid to do it,” he added clearly Stefan didn’t like the idea of any intruding on their privacy.   
“So we’ll go back to ignoring each other when he gets here, it’s not like he’s planning on staying right?” Elena asked, maybe sleeping out be her best way out of things with Klaus.   
“Unless Klaus finds some reason to stay,” Stefan agreed, watching Elena closely as if trying to read her mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! <3


	9. Bloodletting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A nurse comes to take Elena's blood and Stefan's protective side comes out.

Wednesday came quicker than Elena would have wanted, that morning Stefan woke her up by making her breakfast in bed.   
“You don’t have to do all this you know. I’m a big girl I can take care of myself, Stefan,” Elena insisted looking over at him taking a sip of her coffee.   
“I know but today’s going to suck so I want to make it suck less,” Stefan explained, giving her a sweet smile. “I’m sorry this has to happen,” Stefan added looking at her.  
“It’s not your fault, you didn’t get Isobel pregnant,” Elena pointed out with a shrug. She really couldn’t blame Stefan for what was happening to her, he’d done everything in his power to keep her safe and they both knew the truth of the matter. “ Stefan I really don’t want you to feel any guilt about this, it’s going to suck but tonight we’ll just lay in my bed and watch some cheesy old movie you like,” Elena reminded him.  
“Elena, shouldn’t I be the one trying to make you feel better?” Stefan asked, shaking his head before kissing the top of hers.   
“Probably but you know me, I hate when other people feel bad on my behalf, especially when they didn't do anything wrong.”  
The nurse came later in the morning while Elena was working on her computer. She could see the tension in Stefan’s body as he walked the young woman in, she wasn’t much older than Elena they probably could have gone to school together. The petite blonde gave Elena a kind smile before sitting next to her on the couch.   
“Do you have a good vein to use?” The girl asked, taking Elena’s arm and looking at it.   
“I mean they mainly use my arm when I donated blood for school and stuff,” Elena said, giving a small shrug.   
The girl nodded and put a tourniquet on Elena’s arm and cleaned off the spot she planned to take blood. “It’s a big needle so I’m sorry if it hurts,” the girl said, giving an apologetic smile.   
Elena nodded, closing her eyes and wincing as the needle went in her arm. She heard the girl mutter an apology and Elena shook her head, it wasn’t her fault.   
“Where are you from?” Elena asked, trying to take her mind off the blood flowing out of her body.   
“I grew up here,” The girl said, understanding what Elena was wanting. “ I went to college a few towns away and then moved back.”  
“What made you want to be a nurse?” Elena asked, looking at the girl.   
“I like the idea of helping people plus its good money, this job is paying me double than I make in a year at my other job.”  
That was news to Elena, she figured Klaus had just compelled someone and didn’t bother to pay them. That made her feel a little better, at least this girl was going to be able to pay off whatever loans she had or go on a nice vacation.   
Elena glanced down at the blood flowing out, she was on her second bag and she was feeling a bit nauseous. Something in her face must have changed because she could see the worry on Stefan's face from his spot in the doorway.   
“I think that’s enough,” Stefan said, walking further into the room.   
The girl flushed and looked over at Stefan, “I was told to do three bags, no more no less,” she explained.   
“Elena can’t handle that much,” Stefan growled.  
“Stefan I’m fine,” Elena said looking up at him. She didn’t want him to get in trouble, she was pretty positive whatever happened here would get back to Klaus. “Stefan, I’m fine,” she repeated seeing the blatant anger on his face.   
“Your boyfriend’s protective of you,” the girl said, “it’s sweet although I don’t think I like being on his bad side.”  
Elena let out a breathy laugh, “yeah,” she said sighing.   
After it was all over Elena was exhausted, curled up on the couch, a glass of water and soup on the table next to her but she didn’t feel up to eating anything. Stefan sighed putting the blanket over her and sitting on the couch putting her feet on his lap. “You okay?” he asked, watching her carefully.   
“Just tired I guess,” Elena said, closing her eyes.   
“You need to eat Len, or at least drink a little bit,” Stefan urged.   
Elena could hear the worried tone in his voice, she knew he was right and was probably being pressured by Klaus to make sure she was fine after. She just wanted to sleep for a bit first, wanted to go into the numbness she was feeling.   
“Lena please,” Stefan whispered, pulling her close to his body.   
“Please Stefan, I just want to sleep,” Elena sighed, curling her body against his. She knew it was selfish, but she didn’t want to feel anything right then.   
“Just drink some water,” Stefan said, bringing the cup from the table to her shaking hands. Elena obeyed taking a sip of the cool water. She could feel the cold water going down her body, and soon finished the rest of the glass hoping to pacify Stefan by at least drinking it.   
They sat there for a while before Stefan carried an exhausted Elena to her bed, getting her under covers and turning lights off in the room. She didn’t really remember getting there, didn’t remember him sitting at her bedside, but she did remember the feeling of his lips on hers before she fell asleep.


	10. convalescence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Klaus comes to visit the lake house

“How long have you let my girl sleep, Stefan?” Klaus asked from somewhere in the distance.   
“As long as she wanted, you took too much blood and she was exhausted. She’s still a human Klaus, you can’t just take that much blood and expect to hope back good as new after,” Elena could hear the barely hidden range of Stefan’s tone.   
There was a sudden burst of light causing Elena to wince and her eyes to open, disoriented by what was happening.   
“Morning sweetheart,” Klaus said, walking over to Elena’s bedside. “I think it’s time for you to get out of bed Elena,” he said, pulling the cover off her.   
“Klaus, stop it,” Stefan growled from his spot in the room.   
Klaus rolled his eyes at Stefan and grabbed Elena by her wrists forcing her to stand up. “Tell Stefan you’re fine, Elena,” Klaus said. She could practically hear the fact Klaus was finding this all funny. Her life was a joke to him, Stefan’s life was a joke. Whatever semblances of respect Elena bad thought Klaus had for her and her use in making hybrids was evaporating in front of her.   
“Look at her Klaus, she's pale and shaking like a leaf,” Stefan said, taking a step closer to Elena.   
“Elena needs to go get some fresh air and eat. She’s not a toddler who needs to be coddled by you, Stefan. Right, Elena? You’re a big girl, aren’t you?” It was clear Klaus didn’t really want an answer to his question, he was just trying to prove whatever point he wanted to Stefan. It wasn’t about her or maybe it was and she was too muddled in her mind to realize it at that moment.   
Elena stumbled to the balcony as Klaus walked her outside and sat her on the patio chair. She felt dizzy and nauseated as she looked at the food. The cool fall air felt colder on her skin as she sat in Stefan’s shirt she’d borrowed that morning, the foggy part of her brain prayed Klaus wouldn’t notice her attire or not think much of it.   
“Now you’re going to sit out here and eat, then you’re going to go downstairs and relax,” Klaus ordered closing the door locking Stefan out of their conversation.   
“I’m really not hungry,” Elena said, shaking her head.   
“Now refusing to eat isn’t really cooperating Elena, you don’t get to pout like an indignant child every time we take your blood otherwise this will be a long time for you,” Klaus said, “I’m assuming Stefan informed you my dear sister is at Mystic Falls in case you get difficult?” Klaus asked.   
“You’re not going to hurt my friends because I’m not feeling good after you took four bags of blood out of my body,” Elena said incredulously.   
“You need to build up a tolerance Love, the more I take the less often we have to do it. So the sooner you bounce back this time the more I can take next time. You sitting there refusing to eat is doing no one any good,” Klaus said as if it were simple mathematics. “Now eat up Elena.”   
Elena took a spoonful of soup and ate it, the warm liquid tasted good. Elena sat silently and ate the food in front of her ignoring Klaus’s smug stare as she ate. Once she finished Klaus stroked Elena’s hair, “good girl,” he said. “Now how about you go downstairs and set yourself up on the couch or something,” he suggested.   
Elena stood on shaking legs and looked up at Klaus newly found anger at the man clear on her face.   
“Why are you doing this to Stefan?” Elena asked, crossing her arms even though she knew she probably needed something to keep her steady.  
“You’re going to need to be more specific on that Love,” Klaus said, smirking down at her.   
Elena shook her head in frustration, “what you’re doing to Stefan, being a dick to me to get under his skin.”  
Klaus gave her a look of mock confusion. “I don’t know what you’re talking about sweetheart. Nothing about my treatment of Stefan has anything to do with you and my treatment of you has nothing to do with him. Are you not satisfied with my care? You have everything you need here, I even let you stay per your request and left you with your beloved,” he said as if that were the entire truth of the situation and not a sugar coating of reality.   
Elena glared at Klaus, “he told me what you’re planning.” She said flatly wondering which detail Klaus would assume she was talking about.   
“How I plan to find you a perfectly normal human mate and let you have a nearly perfect human life with him, have children, and grow old. Isn’t that what people want?”   
Elena hated how he was manipulating the story to make it seem like he was doing her a favor. As if he was offering her an ideal world that she’d be lucky to get. When in reality Elena didn’t want that at least not in the way Klaus was describing.   
“It’s the twenty-first century, not every woman wants a family and kids,” Elena said instead of admitting the life he talked about was one she had wanted with Stefan.  
“I’m aware of that sweetheart, I’m assuming the life I described was one you pictured with your dear Stefan.” It wasn’t a question, it was a statement of fact.   
Elena let the air hang between them, she could feel her heart racing, her body shaking more than it had been earlier. This time it wasn’t from the cold weather or her exhaustion. Did he know about the past week with Stefan? It’s not as if they did anything against his rules, all Stefan had done was take care of her and make sure she was happy and healthy, one could argue he was just overachieving on the matter.   
“I hate to break it to you Princess but you’re mine, I decide who you love, who gets your body, who you love, who you fuck, who you see, what you eat, what you drink when you sleep. Now I’ve been nothing but kind to you these past few months but if you push me things will get a lot worse for you. Most girls would enjoy the golden cage I’ve put you in, don’t make me take it away. Now be a good little blood bag and go downstairs as I asked you.” Klaus said before stroking her cheek with his hands.   
Elena flinched at his touch then walked into her room then down the stairs not daring to look at Stefan, not daring to see if he was listening to the conversation that had just happened.


	11. Devil Visits in the Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Klaus and Elena have a late-night chat

The next hours passed in a numb blur, she ate anything Klaus put in front of her and drank without putting up a fight. She wandered between her rooms and the living room trying to avoid any gazes Stefan sent her way, trying to ignore how casually Klaus touched her. It was clear she wasn’t human anymore, she was just a doll for Klaus to use at his will. Her feelings didn’t matter, she didn’t matter. Her blood did but she didn’t need feelings or to be a real person for that to be effective. Klaus had her entire life planned out and she had no control over it. She knew if he had to he’d just compel her into submission. She eventually found herself in the shower noticing the new forming bruising from where Klaus had grabbed her, as well as the bruise from where they’d taken her blood the day before. Idly Elena wondered why Klaus didn’t just have them place a port in her neck and get it over with, then they wouldn’t have to bother with the needles anymore. She sat on the floor of the shower letting the bear scalding water hit her back, her eyes staring at the tiles in front of her. Once the water ran too cold Elena stood putting on her pajamas and climbed into bed, expecting Stefan to be waiting but then remember the rest of the day's events. How had a matter of hours ruined the little peace she’d gained? How had things changed so drastically to where she didn’t even know if she could look at Stefan now without putting him in danger? Why did she expect anything else to have happened? Everything she touched crumbled into pieces around her, she, as Elena had once told John, ruined everything she touched. Like father like daughter, Elena thought, shaking her head. Elena closed her eyes praying sleep would come, that her exhaustion would just take over and grant her a few hours of alone time. 

Sleep never came but Elena dared not show any sign she was still awake. Not that Elena wanted to hear anything at the moment, she was pretty sure anything on tv would just make her upset. She laid in the bed that the night before had Stefan next to her, he’d kissed her, hadn’t he? Or had she dreamed that? Elena didn’t know which option was worse.   
Elena listened for any other arguments between Klaus and Stefan, any sign she’d made things worse for Stefan. So far she hadn’t heard any signs of fighting, maybe they’d gone outside or something. She glanced at the clock. It was 2 AM, she knew she could probably get away with getting up and logically it made sense to do so but she was too scared to move anywhere besides the bed.   
The door opened an hour later and a man stepped inside before closing the door silently behind him. Elena frowned, turning on the bedside table light to see Klaus walking towards her.   
“Shouldn’t you be sleeping?” Klaus asked, raising an eyebrow at her.  
“I can’t sleep. I keep waiting for you and Stefan to have a screaming match or something.”  
“ Stefan and I solved our issues so don’t you worry about that. You’re a very kind girl Elena, not at all like Katerina. She would have been kicking and screaming her way through this yet you’ve decided to go with grace and dignity.” Klaus observed watching her carefully. “ I can see why my brother wanted to help you, he was always a sucker for pretty girls with tragedy in their fate but bravery in their hearts. You’re much closer to the Petrova woman I knew as a human than Katerina. She was kind-hearted and trusting to a fault, free-spirited, and funny. The things I’ve seen in you and the way Stefan spoke about you.”  
“Why are you telling the story of another dead girl who was killed because of you?” Elena asked bitterly. She was too tired to play nice with Klaus, all her pretenses were gone. She was too tired to play nice, too angry to want any form of kindness from this man who’d done so much damage to her life.   
“I like you, Elena, like the fire in you that gives you the courage to tell the man leading you to your death to go to hell and break the easy rules he’s set out for you. The way you seem to put love for others over your own needs.”  
Elena shook her head, she didn’t want to hear anything positive about herself coming out of this man’s mouth. He had made it clear she was just a means to an end for him. Besides Elena wasn’t that girl anymore, he wouldn’t let her be. That girl wouldn’t have allowed Klaus in her room like this, not without a fight.   
Klaus smiled and leaned in close to her, Elena froze not daring to move or breathe. Klaus moved his face closer before planting a kiss on her lips, his hands were in her hair, this wasn’t the way Elena was used to being kissed like, no this was a possession, a claim of property. Then in an instant, he was gone.


	12. After math

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stefan and Elena talk about the past 24 hours events

The next morning Elena woke up in a daze trying to figure out if the night’s events had been just something she’d made up in her frazzled mind. She didn’t even remember falling asleep, didn’t know if she had even really been awake during Klaus’s visit, is that really what had happened? What had it meant? Why had he done it? Just to mess with Elena’s already confused mind or to prove his point she didn’t make any real choices for herself? Elena hated that idea, that her mind and body weren’t her own, it wasn’t something she could totally allow, she couldn’t give that up so easily.  
Elena got herself dressed in jeans and a flannel shirt before going downstairs, it was quiet, she knew almost instantly Klaus was no longer in the house. She walked towards the kitchen seeing Stefan pouring two mugs of coffee.  
“Hey,” Elena said softly as she walked into the kitchen.  
“Hey,” Stefan repeated, holding out a mug for Elena.  
Elena smiled, taking the mug of coffee and taking a sip, smiling as the warmth filled her.  
“Are you feeling better?” Stefan asked, studying her face and person carefully.  
Elena nodded, “yeah, I mean it feels like that day after a bad cold or something but I’ll be okay,” she said.  
“Are you okay?” Elena asked, not wanting to ask too much, too afraid to hear the answer.  
“Nothing I can’t handle,” Stefan said with a shrug. It was enough to soothe whatever fear she had been feeling of Klaus’s threat to her. Whatever Klaus knew about the two of them, it wasn’t enough to do anything to Stefan.  
Elena put her mug down on the counter and walked closer to him, she wrapped her arms around his neck and stood on her tiptoes placing a kiss on his lips. She felt Stefan set his mug down and wrap his strong arms around her, pulling her closer, his hands going towards her hair. Elena kissed him harder, needing to feel that connection again, needing to feel his body against her own.  
Stefan pulled Elena onto the counter and Elena ran her fingers through his hair, smiling against his lips. “Elena,” Stefan breathed, pulling away looking into her eyes with his own green ones. “What are we doing?” He asked.  
“I don’t know, but I don’t want to think right now,” Elena admitted, looking at him, her heart racing in her chest, her mouth slightly parted practically begging to be kissed again.  
They sat there for a moment watching the other breath, taking in each other’s beauty and the raw connection between them.  
“I don’t want to hurt you Elena,” Stefan said, taking a small step away from her.  
Elena ran her fingers through her brown locks staring at him, “maybe I want to be hurt Stefan,” she countered watching him.  
Stefan let out a small chuckle shaking his head at her. “What’s going on with you? What did Klaus say to you?” he asked, looking at her carefully as if the answer was clearly tattooed on her somewhere.  
Elena shook her head looking at him not wanting to admit anything of what happened the day before, trying to push away the memories Klaus had scarred her with.  
“Hey, talk to me Elena, it’s me,” Stefan said, voice full of concern.  
“Nothing happened Stefan. I just needed to feel something.” It wasn’t a total lie, she just wasn’t being completely honest either.  
“Elena, you’re the love of my life, the next time we have sex it’s not going to be in a kitchen. I’m going to make it worth the wait. Not that I don’t appreciate kissing you like that, but I’m not going to do it if it’s something that’s just going to hurt you, Elena,” Stefan said watching her carefully.  
Elena bit the inside of her cheek nodding at his words, knowing it was a fair answer, knowing she wasn’t being fair to Stefan that morning.  
“Now, you going to stay up there while I make you breakfast or you want to get down?” Stefan asked walking back closer to her, putting his hands on her waist.  
“I like my view from up here, I’m finally taller than you,” Elena said smiling at him.  
Stefan laughed then kissed her gently on the lips, “don’t get used to it,” he teased.  
The next morning Elena woke up in a daze trying to figure out if the night’s events had been just something she’d made up in her frazzled mind. She didn’t even remember falling asleep, didn’t know if she had even really been awake during Klaus’s visit, is that really what had happened? What had it meant? Why had he done it? Just to mess with Elena’s already confused mind or to prove his point she didn’t make any real choices for herself? Elena hated that idea, that her mind and body weren’t her own, it wasn’t something she could totally allow, she couldn’t give that up so easily.  
Elena got herself dressed in jeans and a flannel shirt before going downstairs, it was quiet, she knew almost instantly Klaus was no longer in the house. She walked towards the kitchen seeing Stefan pouring two mugs of coffee.  
“Hey,” Elena said softly as she walked into the kitchen.  
“Hey,” Stefan repeated, holding out a mug for Elena.  
Elena smiled, taking the mug of coffee and taking a sip, smiling as the warmth filled her.  
“Are you feeling better?” Stefan asked, studying her face and person carefully.  
Elena nodded, “yeah, I mean it feels like that day after a bad cold or something but I’ll be okay,” she said.  
“Are you okay?” Elena asked, not wanting to ask too much, too afraid to hear the answer.  
“Nothing I can’t handle,” Stefan said with a shrug. It was enough to soothe whatever fear she had been feeling of Klaus’s threat to her. Whatever Klaus knew about the two of them, it wasn’t enough to do anything to Stefan.  
Elena put her mug down on the counter and walked closer to him, she wrapped her arms around his neck and stood on her tiptoes placing a kiss on his lips. She felt Stefan set his mug down and wrap his strong arms around her, pulling her closer, his hands going towards her hair. Elena kissed him harder, needing to feel that connection again, needing to feel his body against her own.  
Stefan pulled Elena onto the counter and Elena ran her fingers through his hair, smiling against his lips. “Elena,” Stefan breathed, pulling away looking into her eyes with his own green ones. “What are we doing?” He asked.  
“I don’t know, but I don’t want to think right now,” Elena admitted, looking at him, her heart racing in her chest, her mouth slightly parted practically begging to be kissed again.  
They sat there for a moment watching the other breath, taking in each other’s beauty and the raw connection between them.  
“I don’t want to hurt you, Elena,” Stefan said, taking a small step away from her.  
Elena ran her fingers through her brown locks staring at him, “maybe I want to be hurt Stefan,” she countered watching him.  
Stefan let out a small chuckle shaking his head at her. “What’s going on with you? What did Klaus say to you?” he asked, looking at her carefully as if the answer was clearly tattooed on her somewhere.  
Elena shook her head looking at him not wanting to admit anything of what happened the day before, trying to push away the memories Klaus had scarred her with.  
“Hey, talk to me Elena, it’s me,” Stefan said, voice full of concern.  
“Nothing happened Stefan. I just needed to feel something.” It wasn’t a total lie, she just wasn’t being completely honest either.  
“Elena, you’re the love of my life, the next time we have sex it’s not going to be in a kitchen. I’m going to make it worth the wait. Not that I don’t appreciate kissing you like that, but I’m not going to do it if it’s something that’s just going to hurt you, Elena,” Stefan said watching her carefully.  
Elena bit the inside of her cheek nodding at his words, knowing it was a fair answer, knowing she wasn’t being fair to Stefan that morning.  
“Now, you going to stay up there while I make you breakfast or you want to get down?” Stefan asked walking back closer to her, putting his hands on her waist.  
“I like my view from up here, I’m finally taller than you,” Elena said smiling at him.  
Stefan laughed then kissed her gently on the lips, “don’t get used to it,” he teased.

They sat on the dock a blanket wrapped around Elena’s body as Stefan held her, staring out at the smooth water.   
“It’s so peaceful here,” Elena said softly feeling as if talking loud would somehow disturb the beauty they were witnessing.   
“Mhm,” Stefan agreed before kissing her head.   
“I wish it could stay like this, we could stay here in this quiet place,” Elena whispered.   
“We have it for now, Klaus is extending his trip for another month. So we have more time just for us,” Stefan said as he took her hands in his.   
“How did he know about us? Why didn’t he just send a hybrid or whatever?” Elena asked, frowning.   
“You were wearing my shirt Elena, it probably wasn’t too hard to figure out,” Stefan reminded her.   
Elena nodded, she knew that logically made sense but she also thought maybe there was something else to it, maybe the nurse had said something about Stefan being her boyfriend or how protective he’d been of Elena. Elena knew it didn’t make sense but she also wondered if Klaus somehow had the house bugged, would he bother doing that to every place they stayed at? She knew he monitored her computer, or at least claimed to do so.   
“Did he give you a hard time?” Elena asked, hoping he’d give her a real answer. Elena sighed, looking at him with her large brown eyes.   
“He said something about how you didn’t need to be babied and how I needed to make sure you were being active and not just sleeping all day. I figured the fact your laptop was downstairs and you had other stuff down there would prove that point for him but apparently not. He didn’t say anything to make it seem like he knew about what we’d been doing. Why what did he say to you?” Stefan answered looking down at the girl he was holding.   
Elena frowned staring out at the lake pretending she was telling anyone else but Stefan. Somehow it was worse telling him because he would know what the words really meant to her, just how much they’d hurt every fiber of her being. She could pretend he was Damon who would have understood on a very minimal level but would have given some sort of pep talk or offered to make her a drink to take her mind off things.   
“Klaus said I have no control over any aspect of my life anymore, that every part of me belonged to him. He gets to decide how I spend my days and who I end up with, how many kids I have, who I love,” Elena whispered the words afraid of what they really meant.She could feel the words effect on Stefan’s body, feel his muscles tightening as Elena spoke words that clearly hurt him too. “ I’m not a person anymore Stefan, I’m just some possession for him to use whenever and however he wants.. I’m not allowed to feel things for you because of some far off future where I have to get married to some stranger and have his kids, God I’m pretty sure he’d compel me if he felt like he needed to.” Elena was shaking tears forming in her eyes at the very idea of the future she had no choice in. “and then last night he came into my room-”  
“What did he do to you Elena?” Stefan’s voice was tight. “Did he touch you? What did he do?” His voice was like a hunter protecting its mate that was injured and weak.  
“He kissed me, but I don’t think it had anything to do with me or wanting me. It had to do with owning me,” Elena shook her head trying to be honest without saying anything to cause Stefan to want to rip Klaus apart the moment he saw him.   
Elena felt Stefan pull her closer, the two having no space between them now, she knew it was his way of making her feel safe without having to make promises they both knew he couldn’t keep. Elena snuggled herself into Stefan’s arms taking his hands in hers playing idly with them before playing a small kiss on his knuckles.   
“I’m not going to stop loving you Elena and I’m never going to stop showing you just how much you deserve to be loved,” Stefan said moving their hands to his lips and kissing her hands gently.   
“ You’ll never be able to convince Klaus of that,” Elena whispered, shaking her head.   
“I don’t care if he doesn’t think so, he doesn’t control what’s in your heart Elena, he doesn’t control who and how you love. Don’t let him convince you otherwise, it’s just a scaretatic. I think you’re worthy of all the good in the world and you’re going to think it too,” Stefan said, his voice earnest and true, almost convincing Elena he might have been right in what he was saying.   
Something about Klaus’s threat that afternoon, his vows of a future she had no control over and the way he’d kissed her had implanted something in her mind she couldn’t totally shake.   
She could feel how much Stefan wanted her to feel normal, how much he wanted a happy and peaceful life for her, how he wanted Elena to feel like a person, but she didn’t know if she had it in her anymore. She could fake it, fake whatever small comfort Stefan wanted her to have, she could force herself to smile and feel some sort of normalcy with him. All the while the truth would be she was stuck inside this numbness she couldn’t quite force herself free from.


	13. Plans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stefan comes up with a plan to cheer Elena up

They were in the living room a few days later Stefan watching Elena type on her laptop from his spot on the couch. He smiled as she looked up from her work, her eyebrows raised.   
“What are you working on?” Stefan asked.  
Elena shrugged, setting her laptop on the spot next to her, “I’m supposed to be doing school work but I can’t really focus. I feel I should just take my GED and not bother with school at this point, I doubt I’ll be going to college anytime soon. Plus I can use you as a human encyclopedia if I want to,” the last part was a joke, the rest was all truth she’d been thinking for a few weeks now. She didn’t understand why she had to do school besides Klaus wanting her to have something to do during the day or whatever reasoning he had.  
“ School's important Elena, what if you want to go to college later? I’m pretty sure Harvard has an online program,” Stefan said looking at the brunette.   
Elena scoffed, shaking her head, “you and I did homework together last year so we both know I’m not smart enough for Harvard Stefan.”   
“You’re forgetting you live with vampires Elena, you could probably get into any school you want. And you are smart enough to get into whatever school you want, you were all A’s even when your life was in total chaos,” Stefan said, his voice honest.  
Elena couldn’t help but smile at that, he always saw the good in life, in her. She had put herself into her schoolwork during the last year, partly to avoid the chaos going on in her personal life, partly to keep Jenna from worrying or John from giving Jenna shit about how she was handling Elena and Jeremy. There was already one struggling Gilbert teenager, Elena hadn’t thought it was fair to have the stress.   
“So if you weren’t typing school work in, what were you typing?” Stefan asked, trying to clear the small tension in the room.   
Elena blushed, “I’ve been writing, it’s nothing cohesive or anything, honestly it’s just a lot of rambling,” she started.   
“Well if its ramblings coming out of your mind, I’m sure it’s worth reading,” Stefan said smiling.   
“It’s really not, I don’t think it’s going anywhere, but it gives me something to do. So I guess it works,” Elena said shrugging and closing her laptop.  
“I’d read your grocery list, Elena, anything you write is good,” Stefan reassured.   
Elena laughed shaking her head, “you’ve read my grocery list,” she pointed out.  
Stefan smirked, “see you’re talking to the Elena Gilbert expert,” he teased.   
“Well then you can go to college and teach an entire course on me,” Elena said, rolling her eyes and throwing a pillow at him.   
Stefan laughed catching the pillow, “teaching a subject on a brilliant, beautiful, kind-hearted, brave woman? I think I’d have a full class,” he said.   
“ that might have more to do with the hot teacher than the subject,” Elena said.   
Stefan laughed, “you’re impossible,” he said smiling at her.   
“Yet for some reason you put up with me,” Elena countered rolling her eyes.  
The two sat there quiet for a moment Elena glancing out the window, Stefan’s eyes never leaving Elena.   
“What are you doing tonight?” Stefan asked pulling her attention back to him.   
“Being here, eating whatever you make, watching bad movies in bed,” Elena said her voice confused. It was the same thing they did every night, their own little routine.   
“I’m taking you out, you’re going to have fun,” Stefan said.   
“Pretty sure fun doesn’t exist in our world Stefan,” Elena pointed out, “besides I don’t think I’m supposed to leave,” she added.   
“You’re an eighteen-year-old, you need fun. And frankly, I don’t care what Klaus thinks,” Stefan said. “ I’m not going to give you a choice. You’re going to dress up, do your hair, make yourself more beautiful if it’s even possible, and I’m going to take out my stunning girlfriend and show her off to this small town. Give them something to talk about,” Stefan said smiling at her.


	14. Bars down town

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stefan and Elena go to a bar out of town to get away for the night

Elena was getting dressed in her room slipping on skinny jeans staring at herself in the full-length mirror. Before her was a tall brunette, her hair in waves down her back, high waisted skinny jeans and a lacy black bralette, with heals. She supposed she was pretty, she’d been told that her entire life, she’d seen the looks men had given her as she hit puberty. She hadn’t felt pretty as of late, more like a decoration in the house, meant to be seen not heard, let alone respected. Elena couldn’t remember ever feeling like this like all she wanted to do was cover every inch of her body and hideaway.   
“You’re gorgeous,” Stefan said leaning against the door to the closet.   
Elena turned and looked at Stefan giving him a small smile, “ya think?” She asked glancing at herself. “I can’t figure out what shirt I want to wear.”  
Stefan looked her up and down, “wear that, it’s sexy,” he suggested.   
“Stefan, it’s nearly November,” Elena said shaking her head.   
“Perfect excuse to wear my jacket,” Stefan said walking up to her and wrapping his hands around her waist. “Let everyone know who you’re with,” Stefan said kissing her neck gently.  
Elena blushed and closed her eyes, “Stefan,” she whispered. “We’re never going to make it out of here if you keep doing that,” she breathed.   
“Doing what?” Stefan asked his voice full of faux innocence before he kissed her bare shoulder then back up to her neck again.   
Elena let out a breathy laugh, “kissing me places that you know make me crazy.”   
Stefan smirked, “no idea what you’re talking about Elena,” he said. “Let’s get going otherwise we’re going to miss our reservation,” he said then hit her bottom pushing her towards the door.   
Elena laughed shaking her head walking towards the door and out of the room. “Where are we going?” She asked as they walked towards the car.   
“You’ll see when we get there,” Stefan said taking her hand in his. “You should wear heels more often,” he commented, “ you’re actually as tall as me now.”  
Elena rolled her eyes shoving him playfully, “watch it, Salvatore,” she scolded giving him a mole disapproving look.   
Stefan chuckled and opened the car door for her letting her get in. Elena sat and put her seatbelt on, she hadn’t left the house since Klaus had left having a feeling he’d wanted her on house arrest. When she had gone before Tyler or another hybrid had gone with her and there were often others in town anyways. There hadn’t been any fancy restaurants that’d she had seen so she wondered where Stefan was planning on taking her.   
“I love this time of year,” Elena said her voice soft as she looked out the window. “The trees are all so bright and beautiful, the air’s cool enough to show your breath when you breathe but still warm enough to be bearable,” she said.   
“My mother would take Damon and me out to the orchard this time of year, especially when my father was getting drunk or was in a mood to start a fight. We’d sit under the trees and eat the apples, my mother would tell us stories from her childhood or bring a book and read to us,” Stefan said. He never really talked about his childhood, but Elena always made sure to pay close attention when he did. She knew his dad had been an abusive asshole but she had never heard too much about his mother. Stefan had told Elena his mom died when he was a kid, how Damon was supposed to speak at the funeral but the teenager hadn’t done it.   
“My parents would bring us to the lake house on weekends sometimes, they were convinced bonfires and s’ mores were the perfect way to fix anything,” Elena said looking over at Stefan, she could almost picture her dad’s laughing face as Elena tried blowing out the flames of her marshmallow. “Sometimes they’d let us bring friends, Caroline, Bonnie and I would sleep in the living room telling ghost stories and gossiping, talking about the guys we liked, what we wanted to be when we grew up, always promising to stay friends forever,” her voice caught at that last part. She missed them, her best friends who were more like sisters than friends. She wondered what they were doing, if they were okay, she hoped they were still having fun their senior year.   
“They’re doing okay you know,” Stefan said, “people in Mystic Falls,” he added.   
Elena turned to look at Stefan, her face confused at his words.  
“I went to Mystic Falls last month, I just started driving and ended up there. Caroline was making sure Jeremy was passing all his classes, Jeremy and Bonnie we’re leaning on each other. Matt got a promotion at work from what I heard. They had a gravestone next to your parents and Jenna and John, I put flowers there for you,” Stefan explained.   
Elena let a few tears fall from her eyes as he spoke, she could picture it all, everyone trying to move on. She could see Caroline being strong and steady, doing her best to keep everyone together, she was glad Jeremy had someone to help him through this, and eventually, they’d move on from her apparent death.   
“What about Damon?” Elena asked her voice quiet.   
“He wasn’t in town, I’m sure with both of us gone he didn’t feel like he had a reason to stay,” Stefan said quietly.   
Elena nodded. “ Thank you for getting my family flowers,” she said, “I wish I could go there, talk to my parents, tell them that I’m sorry for leaving Jeremy with no family,” she said shaking her head.   
Stefan placed a hand on her thigh and gently squeezed it. “They know Elena, they know you’re doing the best you can,” he said glancing over at her.   
Elena laughed a little, shaking her head, “ I hope that’s true,” she said softly.   
Stefan looked at Elena then back at the road, before turning the radio on. It was easy for them to be like this, not having to speak to fill the space. Elena looked out the window then sighed, biting the inside of her cheek as they drove past the exit for the town.   
“Where are we going?” Elena asked looking over at Stefan. She trusted him, knew he wouldn’t do anything to get her in trouble.   
“There’s a town about thirty minutes away from here that has some cool bars, plus their locals won’t recognize you or I,” Stefan explained. He looked over at Elena giving her a look of reassurance, he always knew how to quell her fears and make whatever anxiety she was feeling go away or at least quiet down for a while.  
“You do know I’m eighteen right? And you’re seventeen, I don’t think anyone will let us in a bar Stefan,” Elena pointed out, raising an eyebrow at him.   
“You know I’m a vampire, right Elena?” He teased his lips twitching upwards.   
“Mmmm, I forget that sometimes,” Elena said half-jokingly.   
Stefan laughed knowing she was joking there was too much history between them that involved vampires for Elena to ever really forget what he was.  
“If you could be human again…” Elena paused before finishing her question. It was one she had wondered about since she’d found out what he was, especially anytime they talked about their future. “Would you?” Elena asked looking over at him biting her lip.   
Stefan stayed silent for a minute, looking over at Elena before looking back at the road. “There is nothing I wouldn’t give to get to grow old with you Elena. To have the chance to marry you, have kids with you, watch them grow up? That’s all I want, it’s all I’ve wanted since that night at the bonfire, by the falls. I could see it all so clearly, you going to school with some sort of English major, me becoming a doctor or something, us coming back home after doing some traveling the world, there are so many places I want to show you, settling back down in Mystic Falls, having kids, raising them in your childhood home.”  
“It sounds so perfect,” Elena whispered, she’d wanted that too, though she’d never been selfish enough to say any of it out loud.   
“I’d want to make sure you were safe first, maybe go somewhere besides Mystic Falls, maybe somehow convince Klaus to only take blood once a year or something,” Stefan said squeezing her knee gently.   
“Yeah,” Elena breathed out, leaving the truth in the air. She’d have that life, not with Stefan though, not even with someone she knew let alone loved, someone she’d have no choice in. That fact seemed like some twisted nightmare instead of cold hard reality. Elena wondered what it would be like for Stefan, having to watch her live out that life with someone else. Part of her wondered if she could point out to Klaus there were such things as sperm banks now and they didn’t really need a real person, that she could live a long happy life with Stefan and still have kids.   
Stefan reached over and squeezed Elena’s hand gently, “I’ll find a way to get you the life you deserve.” It didn’t sound like an idle promise, he sounded like he could and would do it, even if they both knew it was next to impossible.   
“How? It’s not like there’s a cure for vampirism or something Stefan. You can’t make promises like that, promises we both know you can’t keep. It’s not fair for you to say stuff like that when we both know the truth. In a few years, Klaus is going to use me like some breeding horse so he can continue his army of hybrids. There’s nothing either of us can do about it, Stefan.” The words came flooding out of Elena’s mouth before she could stop them. She was terrified of the future she had no control over and knew Stefan’s words would just hurt them both in the long run. Wasn’t false hope worse than no hope at all? Shouldn’t Elena just accept the truth and appreciate this for what it was, an extended piece that wouldn’t last? Wouldn’t that make her inevitable fate easier to give into?   
Elena watched Stefan’s knuckles tighten on the steering wheel as he processed what she had just said.   
“I’m sorry,” Elena whispered, wiping a tear away. “I shouldn’t have said that it wasn’t nice.”   
Stefan let out a dry laugh, “ Elena, you don’t need to apologize for anything. The only thing I want to do right now is, drive this car till we are somewhere far enough Klaus can’t hurt you anymore,” he said looking over at her.   
Elena scoffed, “we both know how that would end,” she muttered.   
“That’s what's keeping me from doing it,” Stefan agreed.   
“I can’t keep hurting them Stefan, I’ve done enough damage for a lifetime,” Elena whispered.   
“Elena, no one blames you for what happened, everyone knows you weren’t guilty of anything,” Stefan said. It was something they’d bickered about before, if everything in Mystic Falls, everyone who died or got hurt if it’d been Elena’s fault. Katherine had done her damage because of Elena, so had Klaus, how was any of it not her fault?   
“If you keep taking on other’s guilt like this Elena, it’s going to destroy you. Katherine did what she did because she’s a selfish bitch, and Klaus did it to get power. Just because your life was a pawn in their plans doesn’t make you guilty of their sins,” Stefan said, his tone serious.   
Elena looked over at Stefan nodding a little, it made a certain sense.   
“Ease your heavy heart, Lena,” Stefan said, giving her a small sad smile.   
“I will when you will, Salvatore,” She replied, her lips showing the ghost of a smile.   
They arrived at the bar a few minutes later, Stefan parking the car and opening the door for Elena. Elena got out and looked around the town, it was bigger than the one they were staying near, she watched the people walking in groups laughing. Elena wondered what their lives were like if they were as happy as they appeared.   
Stefan reached for Elena’s hand and walked her to the door, his grip tight in hers. Elena followed Stefan smiling up at him as he opened the door for her walking her inside the nosey bar.   
“Can I see some IDs?” The man at the bar said as they approached.   
Elena looked at Stefan, who smiled casually at the man. “We’re both over twenty-one,” he said, looking the man directly in the eyes, his voice calm and cool. “You’re going to let us order whatever we want, and not ask any questions,” he continued. “And if you continue to stare at my girlfriend’s chest like that, you're going to get punched in the face,” he finished.   
Elena blushed suddenly feeling self-conscious about her outfit choice, she was so used to no one caring about what she looked like, she had been fairly certain she could walk around in a t- shirt and no pants at the house and no one would have noticed.   
“What can I get started for you two?” The man asked looking at Stefan then at Elena, making a point to look her directly in the eyes.   
“Bourbon,” Stefan said, then looked at Elena.  
“Um, I’ll have a tequila sunrise,” Elena said, “ and a menu please,” she added.   
The man nodded, “I’ll get that started for you,” he said then slid a menu over to them.  
“God, I want some greasy bar food,” Elena said laughing. “I never thought I’d miss The Grill’s food, but I do,” she said looking over at Stefan.  
He nodded, “who doesn’t like bad bar food,” he teased elbowing her playfully.  
They ordered their food and then began to drink their drinks. Elena watched the people dancing and drinking carefree and happy. Stefan followed her gaze then stood taking her hand.   
“Let’s go dance,” he said smiling at her.   
Elena raised an eyebrow and stood, “you’re asking me?” she asked laughing, “who are you and what did you do to Stefan Salvatore?” she asked as he brought her to the dance floor.   
Stefan pulled her close as they danced, Elena smiled as they danced moving her body to the music. She giggled as Stefan danced in front of her, clearly dancing badly to make her laugh. Elena danced with him draping her arms around his neck, swaying her hips as they danced. She didn’t notice the eyes on them, the people watching them as they danced. Maybe Elena was used to strangers watching her so she didn’t care, maybe it was the closeness to the man she loved that made everything else slip away. After a few songs, the music slowed and Elena looked up at Stefan as he pulled her close, their movements in sync.   
“You’re beautiful like this,” Stefan whispered into her hair.  
Elena smiled, her face flushing, “like what?” she asked.   
“Carefree and happy, not giving a shit about what anyone else thinks about you,” Stefan said, moving hair from her face.   
Elena smiled and put her head against his shoulder closing her eyes, relaxing into his arms. “I love you,” Elena whispered. It was the first time she said it since the phone call, the first time she’d let herself admit the truth that was so blatantly obvious to anyone looking at them.   
“I love you too, Elena,” Stefan said, kissing the top of her head.   
Once the song ended Stefan looked back at their spot at the bar, “our food is ready,” he whispered.   
“Guess we should go eat then,” Elena said, taking his hand walking him back to the bar.   
The two sat at the bar and began to eat their burgers and finished off their drinks. Elena smiled looking over at Stefan, “you have ketchup on your face,” she said taking her finger and wiping it away.   
“I think you’re just looking for a reason to get your hands on me,” Stefan teased, smiling at her.   
Elena giggled, “ pretty sure I can get my hands on you anytime I want,” she countered.  
Stefan laughed, shaking his head, “watch it Gilbert,” he warned his voice playfully threatening.   
“Or what?” Elena asked, raising an eyebrow.  
“I’ll get you back when we get home,” Stefan said, raising an eyebrow back at her.   
“Is that a promise?” Elena asked, smirking, and tilting her head.   
Stefan laughed then leaned over kissing her gently, when Elena pulled away she looked at Stefan with her large brown eyes. “You probably should take me home,” she whispered.   
Stefan nodded then indicated for the bartender to take their stuff away leaving a large tip for the man before taking Elena’s hand and walking her to the car.   
Once they got home Elena led Stefan inside kissing him as they entered the house. Stefan smiled wrapping his arms around Elena and kissing her back, his fingers finding her hair. Elena smiled against Stefan’s lips as Stefan undid the clamps on her bra, Elena pulled away for a moment to let the bra fall to the floor. She grabbed the end of Stefan’s shirt pulling it over his body, Stefan helped her then pulled her face to him in his hands, kissing her again. They made their way up the stairs to Elena’s bedroom before they took their shoes off and went to the bed.   
“Are you sure?” Stefan asked, approaching Elena, helping her with her jeans.   
Elena nodded, “yes, I want you, Stefan, I want this,” she said, her eyes meeting his taking her jeans off.


	15. Unwelcome Guest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Damon finds the lake house and discovers its secret

They laid in bed, Stefan’s hand stroking Elena’s hair, Elena resting on his chest. This was so easy, so normal for them to fall back into this place, this place where they were safe and warm, where no one could hurt them. He’d taken his time, making Elena’s body sing with pleasure, he made her feel alive for the first time since the night Klaus had taken her. Elena closed her eyes, planting a gentle kiss on Stefan’s chest. “I love you,” Elena whispered.  
Stefan smiled, taking her hand in his free one, “I love you too,” he said.   
“Tired?” Stefan asked looking down at her.   
Elena shrugged, wanting to deny it, truth be told this was more than she’d done in months, so her body wasn’t used to being so active.   
“Want anything?” Stefan asked.  
Elena opened her eyes and smiled playfully up at Stefan, “you.”

“What are you doing here Stefan?” Damon’s voice said from somewhere in the house. Elena frowned sitting up in the bed trying to associate herself with her surroundings. How long had she slept? What time was it? Elena looked over at the alarm clock showing the time as 7:00 AM, last time she remembered it was a little after 2 in the morning. So she hadn’t slept that long, when had Damon arrived? What was she supposed to do? Stay hidden? Didn’t Damon think she was dead? Elena stood and put a robe on wanting to hear the rest of whatever conversation the brothers were having.  
“I’m doing what Klaus wants me to do, which currently is get his estate ready for when he brings his hybrids here,” Stefan said, his voice calm and collected.   
“So you’re being the bitch to Elena’s murder?” Damon asked, his voice angry and resentful.   
Elena flinched at that, so he did think she was dead. He thought Stefan was just moving past Elena as if she had never mattered to him.  
“Don’t talk about her,” The word ‘her’ was emphasized by Stefan’s voice.   
“Why? You didn’t see how miserable she was the last three months of her life Stefan, you didn’t see what you leaving did to her. And for her to wind up dead anyway?” Damon asked accusingly. “You didn’t hear her crying at night, didn’t see her sneaking into your room to try to find something to get closer to you, see the look in her eyes anytime Liz even mentioned the hint of a lead then the look when she knew it was another dead end,” Damon accused.   
Elena frowned, she hadn’t told Stefan how bad her depression had gotten during those months. She had clear memories of going into Stefan’s room and stealing his pillow or sweatshirts to get some semblance of safety and the little amount of sleep she was able to get. The nightmares of the night Jenna had died had prevented any good night's sleep that summer, anything that had Stefan’s familiar scent that made her feel safe dimmed those nightmares for a bit but they always crept in eventually.   
Elena wanted to go downstairs, comfort Stefan and tell him none of it was his fault. She was angry at Damon for blaming Stefan for the summer, Stefan hadn’t been the one in the wrong, Klaus had.   
“And who’s life was I saving by leaving Damon?” Stefan asked. “Who was I saving yet again and was forced to leave her, huh?” Stefan asked his voice angry. “I was saving you, yet again. I had to leave because of you, I had to leave her because of you. So whatever was going on with her was your fault too Damon.”  
“You don’t get to do that. How can you still follow Klaus after watching her die?” Damon growled. “And who are you fucking now?” he asked.   
Elena wondered what Damon was talking about, what would make him think Stefan was sleeping with someone? Then she remembered dropping her bra in the front all. Shit.   
“I’m taking a page from your book Damon. Isn’t that what you did when you found out Katherine wasn’t in the tomb?” Stefan pointed out.   
“Is she still here? Got whatever girl you’re sleeping with upstairs?” Damon asked. Elena heard the steps on the stairs and jumped up from her spot walking back towards her room. She knew the minute Damon found out, Stefan and her peace and quiet would be gone. She knew Damon wouldn’t leave without her or would end up dead at Klaus’s hands. He couldn’t know she was alive, it wasn’t fair to anyone. Elena found a door to a random room going inside and trying to be quiet. Didn’t Damon understand he was risking everyone else's lives would be ruined by him being here? How Klaus could still retaliate against them? Elena didn’t know what she would do if her friends got hurt yet again. Elena listened to the footsteps going towards her bedroom and stayed frozen. Elena didn’t think there were too many defining features in there, plus the bed was a mess from the night before anyway.


	16. Discovery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Damon finds Elena in the lake house

“Damon you need to leave, if Klaus gets back he’s going to kill you,” Stefan said his voice exasperated.   
Elena couldn’t hear Damon’s response to what Damon had said, she sighed walking around the room, it was lit by the windows in the room. It was some sitting room with a few plants and a bookshelf, it led out to a patio that went to the garden. She wondered if anyone used this room, it seemed like Stefan had been basically using her room except for his clothes in her room. She could picture Stefan avoiding Elena before Klaus had left, she could see him reading one of the books.   
“Where is she?” she heard Damon yelling slamming open the door next to the one Elena was in.   
“What are you talking about Damon?” Stefan asked, she wondered if he knew this was where Elena was hiding. The door slammed open and Elena turned, seeing Damon’s face staring back at her.   
“Elena?” Damon said, looking at her blue eyes a mix of confusion and betrayal.   
“It’s me,” Elena said looking at Damon then glancing over at Stefan who was also in the doorway.   
“How are you alive? I got back to Mystic Falls, everyone said they saw you die,” Damon said walking closer to Elena.   
Elena crossed her arms taking a shaking breath, “the details are a little fuzzy but the easy answer is Klaus compelled everyone to think I’m dead and I’ve been traveling ever since.”   
Damon frowned standing closer to Elena, she didn’t want to reveal too much, she was terrified of what Klaus would do if he found out. She didn’t want anyone else getting hurt, Damon included.   
“Why would he be doing that?” Damon asked, looking Elena up and down.  
“Does it matter Damon? I’m not going anywhere, I’m not putting anyone else at risk. There’s no point of you being here, go home before Klaus finds out what you did. He's going to find a way to take it out on the people I love.” Elena stated as she prayed to God it would talk some sense into him.  
“Why are you here Elena?” Damon asked.   
Stefan was next to Elena in an instant, his hand in hers adding a layer of protection and strength that she needed. Elena glanced at Stefan for a fraction of a second before looking back at Damon.   
“Damon, please just go home, take care of Jeremy then when he graduates travel the world or do whatever you want. I’m fine, Stefan won’t let anything happen to me,” Elena said, “ I need you to make sure the people I love are okay. I’m going to be fine, Stefan is making sure of that.” Elena’s words were almost pleading, she didn’t want to cry, she could do that once Damon got the hell out of here. The last thing Elena wanted was for Klaus to show up and kill Damon for being on the premises. She didn’t think she could handle watching another person she loved die, and though her feelings about Damon were a bit confusing she knew there was love in the mix.   
“What does Klaus want with a human girl and a ripper?” Damon asked, looking between Elena and Stefan.   
“It’s punishment for both of us, me for lying about Elena being alive and Elena for cheating death,” Stefan said, lying easily.   
“How is having Elena here with her boyfriend punishment for anything?” Damon asked.   
“Because I don’t get to be with the rest of the people I love and I’m here alone most of the time. I don’t get any human interaction and I have to deal with Klaus, who’s an annoying asshole,” Elena said, it wasn’t a lie but it wasn’t the whole truth either. It was all things in her new life that felt like some sort of punishment, though having Stefan here was easily the best part of her days.   
“What happened to your arms, Elena?” Damon asked, indicating her bruises.   
“Sex injuries,” Elena replied instantly, while she wished that was the actual story. Elena could feel Stefan’s eyes on her as she said that and she couldn’t help the blush growing on her cheeks.  
“Yeah I’m sure,” Damon said with an eye roll.  
“Let’s not pretend you haven’t left bruises on me before Damon,” Elena stayed glaring at him, memories of the time he’d forcibly grabbed her arms to stop her from doing something.   
Stefan looked between the two then sighed, “Damon you really need to leave. We’re fine, go take care of Mystic Falls, or don’t go back at all, but just leave here.”   
Elena looked up at Stefan nodding in agreement, “ I’ll be fine Damon, just go,” she said. “I don’t want you to get hurt,” Elena added.   
Damon looked at Elena, “I can get you out of here Elena, take you home back to your family and friends.”  
God the offer was tempting, but if Elena left here she knew the first place Klaus would go would be Mystic Falls, and the first person he’d hurt would be Jeremy. It wasn’t worth it, her loved ones were safer with Elena here.   
“Damon, just go,” Elena whispered, “please just go,” she said her voice trying to hide the desperation out of her voice.   
“Fine,” Damon growled before leaving the room and the house nearly instantly.   
Elena stood there wondering why the world felt like it was moving before Stefan’s arms were around her.   
“Klaus can’t find out about this Stefan,” Elena whispered, her voice shaking nearly as hard as she was.  
“ I know,” Stefan replied, his voice as soft as Elena’s as he spoke. He kissed the top of her head, stroking her hair. “I can tell Klaus you’re ready to leave if you want, that way Damon won’t be able to come back,” Stefan offered knowing it was their best shot at normalcy.   
They both knew this probably wouldn’t be the last time they saw Damon, that he would probably come back and try to convince the two to go back to Mystic Falls. Would the truth make Damon stop or just make it worse? Elena was sure it would just push Damon to play the hero and try to get Elena somewhere ‘safe’ when the truth was at least here everyone around here was safe and no one was going to hurt her. Well no one besides Klaus, but that was a secret she’d keep to her grave.


	17. Breakfast

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking so long to update! I hope everyone is doing okay. Thank you for taking the time to read this!

“How did he even find us here?” Elena asked, shaking her head as the two walked out the room.   
Stefan shook his head, “ he must have been following news leads or something,” he said. “Groups of people going missing in different states, that stuff just doesn’t go under the radar unreported.”  
“And Klaus doesn’t think to try and hide that better?” Elena asked, why draw attention to yourself if you didn’t need to do so?  
“I don’t think he cares to much, he can just compel or kill anyone who’s questioning it and feels stupid enough to challenge him,” Stefan pointed out.   
Elena nodded, she guessed that made sense, though it didn’t seem like the best plan in the long run. But who was she to judge? It wasn’t as if Klaus would listen to a word she said anyways, she was just a prized item to keep safe in his eyes, her opinions wouldn’t matter enough to really take seriously.   
“Everything is going to be fine Elena,” Stefan sighed trying to reassure her, “maybe we can go somewhere that’s more warm, get you some sun,” he added raising an eyebrow.  
“Yeah cause I’m sure there are a lot of wolves in the south,” Elena said rolling her eyes at him.  
“You’d be surprised, there are a fair amount of packs in the south, Louisiana has a pretty well known pack according to Klaus,” Stefan explained taking her hand and walking down the stairs to the kitchen.   
“Is that where you guys spent the summer?” Elena asked, looking at him with a raised eyebrow.   
“ Part of it, we spent part of it in Tennessee,then some other places, Chicago for a week, but you knew about both of those already,” Stefan said looking at Elena.  
Elena nodded, mountains made sense from what Tyler had told her about packs, she knew Chicago had more to do with her than to do with werewolves.   
“Are there wolves in other countries too?” Elena asked, looking at Stefan.  
“No idea, we didn’t get that far, but I don’t see why not. I mean there are vampires and witches in other countries too,” Stefan explained. “ I don’t think they’re as extinct as we originally thought.”  
Elena shrugged a little biting the inside of her cheek, her stomach growling a little as she thought.   
“Alright, let’s get some food in you,” Stefan said, changing the subject in an instant. 

Elena laughed a little then raised an eyebrow letting Stefan drop the subject both of them knowing full well she’d bring it up later. “Did you burn something?” Elena asked sitting at the island.   
“I was trying to make you breakfast tacos, but I got disrupted,” Stefan said, throwing away the burnt food in the pans.   
“Uh that sucks, breakfast tacos sound good,” Elena sighed playfully pouting.   
Stefan chuckled rolling his eyes at her comment, “ “good thing I only made enough food for one person and we have more stuff to make it,” he said looking at her.  
“Why don’t you go get dressed and I’ll start making breakfast,” Stefan suggested.   
Elena looked at Stefan, “I mean staying in a robe seems like a good plan to me,” she pointed out.   
“Well, I have a feeling if I call Klaus he’ll be here by the end of the day so at some point you’ll have to put on actual clothes,” Stefan pointed out, getting food out of the fridge.   
“Mmm so much for our fun,” Elena said, looking over at Stefan, her brown eyes meeting his emerald eyes.  
Stefan paused looking over at Elena, his back against the counter, his body stiffening at Elena’s words. They both knew they were technically breaking unspoken rules setup by someone neither of them could control.   
“It doesn’t mean it has to be over, we just need to be more careful about it,’ Stefan said walking over to her.   
“So should we start using code words again?” Elena asked only half joking.   
Stefan smiled wrapping his arms around her, “ maybe, secrets could be fun,” he said kissing her forehead gently.   
“ I’m pretty sure if we couldn’t keep our relationship secret from Jenna, a human, a room and a half away, we don’t stand a chance against an original hybrid and his minions,” Elena pointed out.   
“Well, maybe if you weren’t so loud,” Stefan teased.  
Elena laughed hitting his arm,” shut up,” she said rolling her eyes. “ I can be quiet,” she said rolling her eyes.  
“Elena, you are anything but quiet,” Stefan said, “I love that about you,” he added.  
“Well maybe you should show me then, that way we can continue our fun,” Elena challenged, eyebrow raised, a small smirk on her face.   
Stefan laughed, then kissed her, his hands finding her body, and touching her. His hands ran up her body running through her hair, his lips kissing her neck. Elena let out a soft moan, then ran her fingers through his hair, smiling as she kissed his neck. Stefan smiled his lips moving to hers, kissing her, and holding her close to his body.   
Elena looked at Stefan, her eyes meeting his, feeling her heart racing in her chest as he looked at her.   
“You’re so beautiful,” Stefan said, his voice soft as he moved close to her kissing her again.   
Elena blushed, kissing him back wrapping her arms around him, letting him carry her upstairs back to their room.   
Being together was easy, rediscovering each other's bodies was like walking an old road you knew years ago. Elena loved the feeling of his hands on her, the way Stefan could make every single cell in her body feel like she was flying was something Elena could never get enough of. Elena could spend her entire life like this and never need to come up for air.


	18. Beautiful

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> super short chapter but I'll be updating more soon!

“You’re beautiful,” Elena whispered against Stefan’s chest, her eyes closed.  
“Isn’t that my line?” Stefan mumbled as he played with her hair.  
“Maybe but it’s true,” Elena smiled looking up at Stefan. “ It’s the hair, and the smile, they’re a dangerous combination,” she stated.   
Stefan laughed, “ Is that so?” he asked.   
“Mhm,” she mumbled, “ and your laugh, and you smell good, plus your smile,” she said.   
Stefan chuckled, “ you said my smile twice,” he pointed out.   
“It’s a good smile,” Elena countered.   
“I don’t think anyone has called me beautiful before or at least not since I was a little boy,” Stefan said looking at Elena.   
“That’s a shame, you should hear it every day,” Elena said before kissing his lips gently.   
“So should you,” Stefan said stroking her cheek gently.   
Elena smiled and shrugged, her looks were what got her into this problem in the first place. If she looked like anyone else she wouldn’t be in this mess, they’d be home, Jenna and John would be alive, and their lives would be normal again. If she didn’t look like a Petrova her life would be normal again.   
Elena closed her eyes relaxing against Stefan, trying to forget Damon’s visit and the implication it could lead to. Seeing him had been hard, she had gotten herself used to the idea she’d never see anyone from home again besides Tyler. Elena had convinced herself that her family would be able to move on, they’d be able to grow old and move past her disappearance, but then he’d appeared. Seeing Damon made the urge to run home, go back to her life, and tell everyone what happened, that more real. She almost wanted Jeremy or Bonnie to burst through the front doors and bring her home, find a way for their lives to go back to normal, she could watch Jeremy graduate high school and go to college, he’d grow up not having to spend holidays alone. Would she give this up? Moments like this, where she and Stefan were laying quietly in this bed able to forget what their world really was now? Elena didn’t know.


	19. Fighting For

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elena and Stefan talk about John and Jenna, Elena thinks about her choices

Elena was reading on the patio, a blanket wrapped around her when Stefan came out setting a warm mug on the table next to her sitting himself down. Elena looked up from her book giving him a small smile, “how’d your phone call go?” she asked.  
“ He was suspicious, I think he thinks we got in a fight or something, but he said to pack up our stuff and be ready to go by the end of the week,” Stefan said, sighing and putting her feet on his lap.   
Elena nodded, seeing where Klaus was coming from thinking they were fighting. “Should we be pretending to fight when he gets here?” Elena asked, looking at Stefan with curious eyes.   
Stefan shrugged and picked up the book Elena had been reading, “ probably wouldn’t hurt, or at very least not be touching each other constantly,” he suggested a small smirk on his lips.   
Elena rolled her eyes and took a sip of the liquid in the mug, it was warm and rich hot chocolate. She smiled and looked at Stefan watching flip through her book, “I don’t think I ever read this book,” he said.   
“I remember my mom talking about it with Carol when I was younger, they were reading it together, I saw it here and decided to read it,” Elena explained.   
“What’s it about?” Stefan asked, setting the book back down.   
“This woman in Ireland, she had this picture-perfect life, kids, nice house, all her family and friends lived close by then she finds out her husband was cheating on her so she runs away to America,” Elena said trying to simplify the story.   
Stefan nodded, “who knows, maybe there are some wolves in Ireland and we can go there,” he said.  
“Isn’t the song Werewolves in London?” Elena asked.  
Stefan laughed, “ well if we go to either place I’ll sneak you off to go to the other,” he promised.   
Elena laughed, “ alright,” she said with an eye roll.   
“What do you want to bring with you when we go?” Stefan asked, changing the subject.  
“Any idea where we are going?” Elena asked before taking another sip of the hot chocolate.  
“ I think they’re in Louisiana, Klaus said something about New Orleans,” Stefan said, frowning a bit at something.   
“What’s wrong going there?” Elena asked her interest, peaked by his expression.   
“ Nothing, it’s fine, no one is going to let anything happen to you Elena,” Stefan said earnestly.  
“I’m aware of that, but why would New Orleans be any different than here?” Elena asked.   
“It’s just a bigger city, much more likely to run into other vampires, vampires, who might have a thing against Klaus, especially after word gets out about what he’s doing,” Stefan said, his voice steady, still avoiding saying some part of the story.   
“What makes you think they’d have any idea who I am?” Elena asked, sure they might mistake her for Katherine, but that was something she had grown slightly used to happening in her life. Unless that was the problem, by admitting who she wasn’t she’d be admitting who she was. Any vampire who paid any attention to the whisperings about the Originals would know Klaus had needed a human Petrova Doppelganger. “Oh,” Elena whispered, putting the puzzle together in her mind.   
“ No one is going to lay a hand on you Elena, I won’t let them, neither will Tyler, and Klaus will make sure the other hybrids are on the same page,” Stefan reassured.   
Elena nodded biting her lip and glancing out at the icy lake, wondering just how possible it was for Stefan to keep these promises besides locking her in whatever house Klaus had compelled for his small army this time.   
“My mom and dad used to go to New Orleans for vacation,” Elena said thinking back to her childhood.   
“Did you ever go?” Stefan asked as he watched her.   
Elena shrugged taking a sip of her hot chocolate, “no it was parents only kinda thing, they’d get Jenna to babysit and sometimes John,” she said then frowned remembering the people she had lost.   
“I can’t imagine John babysitting,” Stefan said giving her a teasing smile.  
“Yeah he wasn’t great at it, he was the last option, Liz was before him on the list, hell even Carol Lockwood was above him,” she said.   
Stefan chuckled at her memory, trying to picture a younger Elena with her brother at their childhood home with John there having to watch the two kids. He could imagine Elena as a kid, same grin, same kind nature, having to spend time with her uncle who never really knew how to take a joke. He could picture Elena keeping Jeremy entertained as John had no idea how to do so.   
“Jenna would buy us pizza and let us stay up late,” Elena added, smiling, “she’d let us get away with a lot of stuff as long as we didn’t tell our parents.”  
Stefan laughed, “yeah that doesn’t surprise me,” he smirked, remembering the woman who had let Stefan spend the night during the week and who had let Stefan whisk Elena away to the Gilbert lake house on weekends.   
There was silence between the two for a moment, both thinking of the two people who had died because of the supernatural chaos out of their control. Elena remembered the woman who’d been more of a friend than a guardian and the man who helped bring her into this world. John a man who had tried to redeem himself in the very end, who Elena had never really gotten a chance to close the gap between the two. She tried to imagine what the two adults would say about where Elena was now, she could imagine John’s disapproval of the vampire of it all and the fact she was yet again in bed with a Salvatore. Jenna would be more practical, worried about Elena taking care of herself, getting what she wanted out of the world instead of the world getting what it wanted out of her. She supposed she was letting them both down in the end and she didn’t really know how she felt about that in the long run.   
After all, weren’t these supposed to be her wild and crazy years? Shouldn’t she be getting ready for college and having her last few dances in high school with her friends? When she thought about it too hard she felt uncontrollable anger raging inside her. She was angry at Klaus for doing this to her, angry at Damon for letting those tomb vampires out in the first place, and most of all angry at herself for letting it go this far without putting up a fight. When had she become this person? Compliant and weak-willed? When did she decide it wasn’t worth fighting for her freedom anymore? Sure the initial shock of what happened had put Elena into a state of shock and depression, but that ah been months ago. Why wasn’t she fighting now? Fighting for her freedom, her right to be with her friends and family, getting to see Jeremy grow up and become a man. When had that become unimportant to her? She knew compared to Klaus she wasn’t strong, it’d be a mouse fighting a lion, not even worth the lion’s effort in the fighting. It didn’t mean Elena couldn’t make the lion’s life inconvenient, make the minimal task annoying and harder than needed, scare off the hybrids who were ordered to babysit her, make it so Klaus didn’t really have a choice but to give Elena what she wanted even if it were smaller victories and freedoms.


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elena meets Klaus again before leaving for New Orleans

Klaus came by the end of the week, hybrids and trunks in toe, he came around lunch that afternoon, Elena coming in from a jog around the yard when he arrived in the kitchen.   
“You look well Elena,” Klaus greeted his eyes surveying her body up and down.  
Elena was suddenly hyper-aware of her tight workout pants and shirt that really only qualified as a sports bra. She’d worn it to give Stefan something to look at before Klaus had arrived but apparently the man had decided to come early.   
“I used to do cheerleading and Caroline made us run to prove we could keep up with the football players,” Elena rambled not really sure why she was telling Klaus all this, as if he had any idea who Caroline was, let alone cared.  
“Ah yes the blonde friend of yours Damon saved from the sacrifice,” Klaus mused, “the one Katerina turned,” he added. “Rebekah has complained about her a lot, apparently she’s annoyingly optimistic.”   
Elena frowned at that, she didn’t exactly like the idea of Klaus knowing who her friends and knowing them as well as he seemed to know Caroline. The thought of the other blond being around Caroline enough to pick up on Caroline’s unwavering optimism didn’t sit right with her. She wondered how Klaus’s sister would describe Bonnie, Elena was sure Bonnie had little to nothing to do with the blond and probably was doing her best impression of Grams towards her. She also wondered if they knew exactly who Rebekah was or if she was trying to pose as a normal human.   
“Rebekah did mention Stefan’s brother was absent, as well as that man that was living with Jeremy was no longer in the picture,” Klaus stated.   
Elena’s mind was buzzing, why was he bringing up Damon right now? Which man did he mean? Alaric or John? Had Alaric left town after everything that had happened? Was he searching for Stefan with Damon? Did Alaric now know about Elena too?   
“Your birth father,” Klaus added, the confusion Elena was feeling apparent on her face.   
“John,” Elena said flatly. “He died...that night, he died, so I wouldn’t have to turn into a vampire,” she explained, her voice distant.   
“I never did hear the full story,” Klaus said a small smirk on his face. “Stefan refused to talk about you, he’d always get upset anytime your name was mentioned, and Elijah was never one to give details that weren’t his to give,” he added.   
Were they really having this conversation? Elena didn’t really talk about John, he had never really mattered in her life until the last year, he had just been her dad’s annoying younger brother. The night of the sacrifice had been a nightmare for Elena, it had haunted her dreams every night until she’d started sleeping with Stefan again. She didn’t think she could talk about it.   
“Some stories are better left untold,” Elena said looking at Klaus trying to make it clear from the look on her face it was not up for discussion.   
“We do have a long drive ahead of us Elena,” Klaus pointed out, “lots of time to tell stories,” he added.  
Elena raised an eyebrow, “we’re driving?” she asked, “why not take a plane or something?” she asked.   
“Don’t you like road trips?” Klaus asked with a raised eyebrow.   
Elena shrugged thinking of the trips she had taken with her friends, with her parents when she was younger, the time Damon had forced her to go to Georgia and she’d been able to turn off her brain for a few hours. She could practically hear the blaring music, taste the bad gas station food, feel the wind coming in from the windows.   
“ I don’t like strangers driving me around, I’ve been in too many car accidents,” Elena said flatly, it wasn’t a total lie. Ever since the accident that killed her parents, Elena had been uneasy about cars, she didn’t really let her friends drive her around besides Bonnie and eventually Stefan. She felt like she needed to take something to make her sleep anytime she got in a car   
with someone, she didn’t trust.   
“I don’t think we are strangers at this point,” Klaus said watching Elena carefully.   
Elena looked at the man wanting Stefan to walk in the room, she hated being alone with Klaus especially after the last time.   
“That doesn’t mean I want to be in a car with you, even if you are older than all modes of transportation besides walking,” Elena replied rolling her eyes.   
“The American school system has really failed you, they had horses and boats in my time,” Klaus said, shaking her head.  
Elena scoffed, “this really isn't making me any more comfortable getting in a car with you.”  
“You don’t really have a choice. Go shower, get dressed, be ready to go within the hour,” Klaus said, putting an end to the conversation. 

Elena went up the stairs to her room, seeing Tyler picking up some boxes as she walked in.   
“Hey,” Elena said looking around the nearly empty room, her pillows, and blankets gone, as well her other personal belongings.   
Tyler nodded, “Hey Elena,” he said, putting the box down and walking over to her.  
Elena wrapped her arms around Tyler, hugging him tightly. She hadn’t realized how much she missed Tyler, missed having that familiar face around, the person that knew her before all this supernatural stuff had taken over. Tyler had known a happier Elena, the girl that would go to parties and drink till she practically blacked out, the girl who snuck out of her room to go hang out with friends and was a cheerleader, carefree, happy.   
“How have you been? I‘ve been worried about you,” Tyler asked, hugging her back tightly.   
Elena nodded and shrugged knowing she couldn’t give a real answer without Klaus overhearing or finding out. The truth was she was happy, she had been at peace for the first time in months, Stefan had brought back that carefree girl she used to be for a while. “I’m fine Tyler,” she said assuming that was a fair enough answer. It didn’t reveal too much and it didn’t give Klaus any more reason to give Stefan a hard time.   
“Good, Klaus had Stefan head out when we got here,” Tyler said, looking at her, “plus I heard your conversation downstairs.”  
“I promise I’m fine Tyler, I mean currently I’m sweaty and annoyed, but fine,” Elena said, pulling away and giving him a sideways smile. “So are you going in the car with Klaus and me? It’d be more bearable with you there,” she said hoping he was coming.  
“No, sorry, I have to drive the moving truck,” Tyler said nodding towards the boxes. “Plus I don’t think I could stand being in a car with him that long, rather run behind the car as a wolf,” he said rolling his eyes and scowling.   
Elena laughed, “yeah that option sounds pretty good right now,” she said shaking her head.   
“I left some clothes on the bed, Stefan told Klaus where you were and I figured you’d want to get out of your sweaty clothes,” Tyler said before going back into the room and grabbing the boxes.   
“Thanks, Tyler,” Elena said softly before going into the room and changing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you think!


	21. stretch your legs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More Klaus and Elena in this chapter!

They’d been in the car for hours, Elena stared out the window towards the passing town. They were in some small town, Elena wasn’t really sure what state they were in, she’d stopped paying attention awhile ago. She’d dozed off for a while trying to distract herself from the anxiety she was feeling. Now that she was awake she was aware of Klaus’s eyes on her, she knew it probably was impossible to ignore the man for very long but she was doing her best.   
She wondered if Stefan was in New Orleans yet, where they were going to stay. She wondered if they’d have any of the freedom she had been enjoying with Stefan over the last few months. She’d loved to explore the city with Stefan, get to see the places her parents had talked about with the person she wanted to spend her life with. She imagined a different life where she and Stefan were visiting New Orleans with her parents, meeting there during spring break, Greyson and Miranda showing them the places they went. Elena knew deep down her parents would have loved Stefan, vampire or not, they would have seen how happy he made her and how kind Stefan was to the people around him. She could imagine Greyson and Stefan cooking in the kitchen during the holidays, picture Stefan on their families trips to the lakehouse, and Stefan cheering on Jeremy during his graduation. If things hadn’t happened like they had the two of them could be finishing off their senior year, going to college together, spending weekends in Mystic Falls with Jeremy, and living their lives together.   
It was funny how easily Stefan could fit into any version of her life she imagined. Even with all this she knew Stefan was inevitable in her life, they were like magnets drawn together in a way she had never expected. Elena had read plenty of books about love, read all the stories, heard the songs, seen the movies, she’d watched her parents happy marriage,yet she never had believed that this kind of love was meant for her. She never pictured her life with someone who loved her as truly and deeply as Stefan loved her. Elena had also never imagined she would be able to feel this way about Stefan. She couldn’t really put it into words, loving him was as easy as breathing, it felt like putting on her favorite cardigan that was safe and warm, and something that was always there lingering in her mind.   
“Do you need to stop for anything?” Klaus asked forcing Elena out of her thoughts.  
Elena looked at Klaus shrugging, she had a water that was mostly empty and a bag of popcorn somewhere in the car. Not that was really wanting to eat, she felt like she was being watched when it was just her and Klaus in the car.   
“I’m fine, thanks,” Elena said stretching her arms. She did want to get out and walk around, she wasn’t used to sitting this much. At the lake house Stefan and her would go on walks almost everyday, as well as using their bodies for other things, there hadn’t been a ton of downtime for Elena these days.   
“Why don’t we stop and you can stretch your legs,” Klaus suggested as if he were reading her mind.   
Elena wondered briefly if Klaus could read minds, it would explain a lot of things he had happened to figure out. Or maybe that’s what happened when you were alive for centuries at a time, people became easier to read. Most people were overall the same, Elena suspected that hadn’t really changed over the years.   
“Sure,” Elena said, not wanting to seem eager one way or another.   
Klaus chucked at Elena’s indifference and pulled off at a small rest stop. He parked the car, got out, and opened the door for Elena. Elena got out and stretched her arms out trying to get her stiff muscles to relax a bit. Her legs felt a bit like jello as she walked around towards the bathroom, she wanted to wash her face, wake herself up a bit, and get a small break from Klaus’s ever-looming presence. Elena went to the bathroom and cleaned herself up when she noticed a woman looking at Elena.   
Elena walked back towards the car seeing Klaus leaning against it, his arms folded on his chest. Elena rolled her eyes looking at the man as she approached, “I’m going on a walk,” she said making it clear it wasn’t a question.   
“Lead the way,” Klais said, moving his body from the car.   
Elena rolled her eyes, it wasn’t supposed to be an invitation for him to come along, and it’s not as if she would try running at this point. Still, Elena started walking towards the trail needing the time away from the car and wanting the fresh air.   
“The woman that followed you out of the bathroom thinks I’m kidnapping you,” Klaus stated humor in his voice as he talked.   
Elena frowned at that looking over at the man, “how do you know that?” she asked.   
“ I heard her tell her friend when she got to her car, she was debating calling the police. I’m sure she'd take a picture of the license plate while we’re gone,” he said this so casually and so clearly not worried about any repercussions that it made Elena pause.  
“And that doesn’t worry you? That someone might be sending the police after the car?” Elena asked, she knew Klaus could compel anyone to forget why they’d pull them over, but surely he didn’t want records of where he was going out there.   
“Being a vampire has its perks Elena, police tend not to ask a lot of questions when they see my name involved,” Klaus said with a smirk.  
Elena thought about that for a moment, was there some sort of database of who not to mess with that all police officers had? She wished she could ask Liz if she knew anything about it.   
“Vampires are much more involved in your world than you’d expect Elena,” Klaus explained reading her confusion, “ I could easily erase your existence from everywhere, Elena Gilbert could cease to exist,” he added.  
“Is that what you did? Make me disappear?” Elena asked, she guessed in some ways that’d made sense, and it wasn’t the worst plan she’d ever heard.   
“No. I had Rebekah fake your death certificate, clear your school records, so your friends had no reason to question anything I told them,” Klaus said.   
Elena nodded, wondering what her funeral had been like. Who had gone? Who’d spoken? What had Jeremy done after? Who had planned it? The obvious answer to the last question was Caroline, she could see her blonde best friend taking that under her wing and taking control of that situation. At least this way they had closure, they didn’t have to worry about her. Jeremy could picture Elena with their parents and the family they’d lost, her friends would know she’d found peace.   
“ I suppose I could thank you for that, at least now the people I love don’t have to worry about me or get themselves hurt trying to stop you,” Elena said.  
“Yes, well killing them all seemed like a much bigger hassle than just pretending to kill you,” Klaus said looking down at Elena, his eyes meeting hers. For a moment she could see something almost human in the man’s eyes, something that made her think it had been some sort of mercy he’d shown her when he could have easily killed everyone.   
“Right,” Elena said then started walking a little bit fast, wanting to get her body moving again and clear her mind for a bit before they got back into the car.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the next chapter or so I'm going to write more of Klaus/Elena interactions together as they drive to NOLA


	22. Car Talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Klaus and Elena talk as they drive down the road towards New Orleans

“How did your father die?” Klaus asked, glancing at Elena who nearly choked on her water at the question.   
“Excuse me?” Elena asked, trying to figure out what he meant.   
“The one that died the night of the sacrifice. Your birth father, though by the look on your face I’m assuming you have more than one father,” Klaus explained rolling his eyes.   
Elena frowned, put her water down, and looked out the window. “I was adopted, the people who raised me, died in a car accident. John, who you’re talking about died to make sure I wouldn’t turn into a vampire. Damon made me drink his blood, he was scared I was going to die and Elijah’s potion wouldn’t bring me back. Bonnie found a spell which brought me back to life but John died instead,” she explained.   
“Yes, I knew you were adopted, I did meet Isobel, but from what I gathered you did not know her very well. Stefan saved you from the car wreck, correct?” Klaus asked.  
Elena nodded, both his guesses were right. She’d never known the good side of Isobel and had been too afraid to reach out to Isobel’s parents to ask about her. Stefan had saved her that night, then he saved her again once they really met, Stefan had always seemed to be there to save the day.   
“John was my dad’s brother, he never stayed in our lives for very long. He’d come by for holidays sometimes but there was always a bit of tension when he came. I always thought it was John being annoyed by my dad treating him like his younger brother but maybe it had more to do with seeing my dad raise his kid,” Elena said, she didn’t know why she was saying it, she hadn’t spoken these thoughts out loud before. “My dad was always protective of his kids, but especially me, which I guess makes sense given everything I know now,” she was rambling now but Elena didn’t care and it seemed Klaus didn’t either. “John always had some comments about how Jeremy and I were being raised or if we were doing enough stuff outside of school, plus it didn’t help that he always had this arrogant attitude.” Elena had never liked John, he always seemed like he knew better than Elena’s parents. Maybe he just felt some sort of remorse giving Elena away, but she doubted that he’d never acted like any sort of a father figure until the end.   
Elena could feel Klaus watching her, she didn’t really know why she was telling him all this. It wasn’t any information that he could use against her in any way, John was gone, so it wasn’t like any of it mattered anymore. John was dead, her parents were dead, she felt like she was dead, so why did it matter if she was telling this awful wolfman about it?   
“What were your parents right? Clearly, someone in your life had to be good for you to turn out as selfless as you are,” Klaus said.  
Elena rolled her eyes shaking her head, she wasn’t selfless. If she were selfless she’d stop what she was doing with Stefan, let him move on, and find happiness with someone else.   
“Being selfless isn’t always a compliment,” he pointed out.  
“Right, like when it leads you to abandon everyone you love and your normal life so a giant wolf boy can make more wolf boys till he has an army of wolf boys?” Elena replied, her voice full of sarcasm.   
“A bit on the nose don’t you think, love?” Klaus asked.  
Elena shrugged, “what can I say? I no longer care what you think about me,” she said looking out the window.   
“And why would that be?” Klaus asked.  
“ You aren’t going to kill me, you’ve already taken the good things out of my life, so there’s no point of trying to make anyone but myself happy.” It wasn’t something she had even realized for herself until she said it.   
Klaus laughed at that, looking at Elena then back at the road. “So your parents?” He probed.   
Elena shrugged, “I was raised by a doctor and a stay at home mom. A picture-perfect small-town family, we never went without anything we needed as kids. My mom got me into writing when I was a kid, but I’ve always liked reading and telling stories. I grew up going to my dad’s office, playing with the same group of friends my entire life, it was easy and absolutely normal.”   
That life felt like a million years ago to Elena, it felt like a completely different girl, which she had been, that Elena had died. The girl Elena had been biggest worries were letting down her boyfriend when she broke up with him, not being good enough in cheerleading, and getting good grades for college. If someone had told Elena that in a year and a half she’d be in the car with a hybrid werewolf vampire and she was the key to making more werewolf vampires, Elena would have laughed in that person's face. That girl hadn’t believed in any of this, hadn’t known she was supposed to be an unwilling party to the supernatural, a world her parents or at least her dad had always been a part of.   
“Sounds picturesque,” Klaus said, his voice softer as if not wanting to erupt Elena’s track of mind.   
“ It was, or as far I knew it was. My dad was secretly a vampire hunter or at least knew how to kill them. I was adopted and no one had bothered to tell me until it was too late, my brother had a bit of a drug problem, and I had a party girl streak,” Elena said with a shrug as if these were all normal things most families dealt with.   
“Would your vampire-hunting father approve of Stefan?” Klaus asked.  
Elena shrugged, “ I’d like to think the man I knew, who probably wouldn’t have liked Stefan originally, would have eventually liked Stefan. See past the fact he was a vampire and see what a good, kind, and caring person he is,” she replied. Elnea turned to look at Klaus, “why can’t Stefan and I spend our lives together? There are sperm banks and stuff, there’s no reason I need to marry anyone or have a child,” Elena pointed out. “I wouldn’t fight this, I wouldn’t put up any arguments to any of it.” Elena knew it probably sounded like begging but she didn’t care. It was a simple question, one she felt she deserved an answer to.   
“And who would take care of that baby made in a lab?” Klaus asked, clearly humoring Elena.  
“Stefan and I could, or maybe you could find some nice family that could be trusted to take care of the kid,” Elena didn’t want to have any kids, she didn’t want anyone else to have to go through this, but maybe she could be with that if it meant she could have Stefan.   
“The ripper vampire taking care of an infant?” Klaus raises an eyebrow as if Elena had lost her mind.  
Elena scoffed, “he’s not a ripper all the time, you act like that’s his only personality trait.”  
“It’s a pretty important one Elena,” Klaus pointed out.  
Elena shrugged, “well I think no matter who the child is raised by you’ll be involved, and I think a wolf boy with family issues is a bit more dangerous than Stefan’s blood addiction. Especially when you consider Stefan’s good qualities that override any of his bad,” she said looking back out the window.   
Klaus chuckled and continued driving, “ and what’s your plan if I did let you and Stefan be together?”   
Elena thought for a moment, she imagined it’d be like their lives at the lakehouse, easy, quiet, peaceful. “Grow old with the man I love by my side,” she said with a shrug. She could picture them traveling the world together, eventually settling down and finding a way to make peace with their lives.   
“Have you given any consideration to the fact you’ll age and Stefan won’t? The pain that will cause Stefan?” Klaus asked looking at Elena.   
“Since when do you care about what hurts Stefan?” Elena asked her voice bitter.   
“I consider Stefan to be a close and personal friend Elena,” Klaus said with a smirk.   
Elena rolled her eyes, “ well I could be wrong but last time I checked friends don’t torture their friends loved ones,” she snapped.  
“Is that what you think this is Elena? Torture?” There was almost a hint of humor in his question.   
Elena frowned, “it’s not exactly a dream vacation,” she mumbled.   
“Most humans would pay anything to get to travel the country expense-free,” Klaus remarked.   
“Right but you forgot to add the catch that they don’t get to be their own person anymore and are used as a human blood bag and never get to see their family or friends again,” Elena corrected with an eye-roll. “ Plus it’s not exactly seeing the world when I’m locked in houses for most of the days.”   
Klaus thought about that for a few moments before responding, “how about I send your friend Tyler and a few of my hybrids with you and you can go explore New Orleans? Or better yet I can show you around myself, I do know the city pretty well, Elena.”   
“Aren’t you worried whoever is making New Orleans dangerous for you might come after me?” Elena asked.  
“What did Stefan tell you about New Orleans?” Klaus asked his voice genuinely interested in her answer.  
“Just that there are more likely to be a bigger population of vampires in a bigger city,” Elena said, it wasn’t a lie. It wasn’t as if Stefan had known more than that and if he did he hadn’t mentioned it to her.   
Klaus nodded, “he’s not wrong, but I can assure you Elena no one will mess with you as long as you’re under my protection. Just don’t do anything stupid to get yourself in danger and you’ll be perfectly safe.”  
Elena nodded back knowing it was probably the most Klaus could promise her, that the only real danger to her was the man sitting right next to her in this car.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter will include Elena and Klaus alone in a hotel room. We're getting closer to New Orleans, I promise it's coming! <3


End file.
